Jasper's Story
by Scuzzfuzz
Summary: Jasper Hale and his sister Rosalie are sent to live with their Uncle Charlie and his daughter Bella in Forks, Washington, after their father, Major Jack Hale, is posted to a restricted site. A story of life, love and laughter. AU/AH, canon couples.
1. Prologue

**A/N:** I don't own Twilight – it belongs to the genius that is Stephenie Meyer. I do own these incarnations of her characters that play games in my mind.

This story is not in any way related to my first story, "The Beginning of Bella and Edward" – just so we're clear! I have no idea how often I'll update but I'm aiming for once a week. The first chapter will hopefully be out before Monday next week though – this is just to set the scene.

Happy reading!

Prologue

"Night dad," I called, poking my head into my father's study.

"G'night son – don't forget to set your alarm – wheels up at oh-six hundred."

I smiled. _Once a Marine, always a Marine,_ I thought fondly. "Yes sir. See you in the morning."

I headed upstairs and paused outside Rosalie's room when I heard sobs coming from the other side. _To knock or not to knock,_ I mused.

Taking a deep breath, I knocked softly on my sister's door. "Rose?"

"Come in," she sniffled.

I opened the door and stepped through. Her room was as bare as mine, save for the bed and a few clothes hanging over a chair. "You ok?" I asked, sitting on the end of her bed.

"I just don't understand why we have to go, Jasper!" she wailed, throwing herself at me and crying into my shoulder.

Startled, I tentatively wrapped my arm around her and rubbed her back. We might be brother and sister, Rosalie older by fourteen months, but we'd never been particularly close. "It's ok," I whispered. "Dad'll come visit, and Uncle Charlie lives in a nice house, you'll have your own room still, and you'll have a heap of new guys to win over!" I teased.

Rose snuffled against my shoulder for a second longer before sitting up and wiping her tears on the hem of her pyjama shirt. She ran her fingers through her wavy blonde hair and gave me a watery smile.

"Thanks Jas," she said. "I think I'd better just get some sleep."

I stood and headed for the door, where I turned. "To quote the Major downstairs, don't forget to set your alarm. Wheels up at oh-six hundred."

That earned me a genuine smile. Our father had no idea we referred to him as 'The Major' behind his back. It was one of the few jokes that Rosalie and I shared. "Better get up at oh-four thirty," she giggled.

I smiled back. "Night Rose. Sleep well."

I closed her door and stopped by the bathroom on my way to bed. I set the alarm on my phone as well as the one on my nightstand for 4:30 the following morning. As I lay in the dark, I pondered what was to come.


	2. Leavin' On A Jet Plane

**A/N:** I don't own Twilight – it belongs to the genius that is Stephenie Meyer. I do own these incarnations of her characters that play games in my mind.

Thanks to those who have reviewed the prologue I posted yesterday – I know it wasn't a lot but I wanted to set the scene. Hopefully this will fill your appetite for a week!

Happy reading!

Leavin' on a Jet Plane

I woke before the alarm went off the next morning and lay in my bed for the last time, going over the night dad had told us he was being transferred.

***

"So," he said. Rose and I had immediately looked at each other across the table. The Major _never_ started his sentences with so, not unless… Realisation had hit like a tonne of bricks as I saw it in Rosalie's eyes.

"So," he said again. "I received transfer orders today."

_Bingo,_ I thought with a wry smile. His last transfer had been almost ten years ago, when I was seven and Rose had just turned nine. Our mother had passed away six months earlier from cancer and we knew dad wanted to move on. Uncle Charlie, our mother's brother, had been medically discharged just before her death after he was wounded on active duty. Bella's mother had left when she was only two, leaving Charlie to raise a little girl on a Marine Corp base. Our mother helped where she could and by the time Bella and I were four we were best friends. Charlie and Bella moved to Forks after my mother's death, where he took on the role of Chief of Police. The way Bella told it, the most action he saw was when the town drunk fell in the river Charlie liked to fish on.

I had come back to the current discussion when Rosalie asked, "Where are we going this time?'

"Well," dad started, dropping his eyes to his plate. Another look from Rosalie. _Well_ was like _so_. Never good.

"Well what dad?" I prompted him.

"This time you kids can't come with me," he said in a rush.

"We what?" Rosalie and I exclaimed together.

"Where are you being transferred to?" I asked cautiously.

The Major took a deep breath before looking me straight in the eye. "Guantanamo Bay."

I remembered how I froze. How Rose's reaction was the exact opposite. How she dropped her fork on her plate with a clatter, threw back her chair and stormed from the room, running upstairs and slamming her door.

"Please tell me you didn't just say Guantanamo Bay," I had whispered, almost pleading.

"It's not open for discussion Jasper," he replied. "The decision has been made and the papers have been signed. I leave in three months."

***

Laying in my bed now, I remembered how Rosalie had run away after dinner that night. Not the smartest move when you live on a Marine Corp base. The MPs had found her hiding in one of the tank bays and brought her home the next morning after The Major had gone to work. I still thought they waited on purpose.

My alarm went off a short while later and I quickly shut it off and got out of bed. Through habit, I made the bed quickly and precisely before gathering my clothes and heading for the shower. I detoured past Rosalie's room on the way back to my bedroom, knocking softly to make sure she was awake.

"Fuck off," came the reply from the other side of the door.

"Language Rosalie," dad commented as he passed. "Breakfast in fifteen minutes.

I quickly packed the last few things lying around my room, making sure I shoved my journal and a pen into my back pack to take on the plane. I walked into the kitchen exactly fifteen minutes later, and sure enough, dad was serving up breakfast. Rose came in a minute or two behind me and took her place at the table. I smiled at the symmetry of it all. It was always dad at the head, Rosalie on his left, me on his right.

We ate our bacon, eggs and toast in silence, the only sounds coming from our cutlery on our plates or the occasional soft thump as Rose or I placed our orange juice back on the table. When we were finished, Rosalie stood and automatically started gathering our plates.

"I'll do that," dad said quietly, making Rose and I jump. "You two go and finish getting ready. You have an hour before we need to leave."

Rosalie and I walked out of the kitchen together and I saw her shoulders shake as I followed her up the stairs.

"Rose," I ventured.

"Fuck off Jasper. I'm not in the mood," she spat, running the rest of the way and shutting herself in her room.

I paused at her door and decided against knocking, despite the quiet sobs I could hear through the wood. I cleaned my teeth and grabbed the last of my things from the bathroom, zipping up my toiletry bag as I walked out.

"Bathroom's free," I called in the direction of Rose's room before turning and walking the other way.

Once in my room, I threw my toiletries in my suitcase and closed the lid, running the zip around and securing the locks. My room didn't look like my room any more. All of our belongings had been packed the previous weekend and one of dad's friends had driven it up to Forks in a U-Haul truck. With a sigh, I took one last look around my room and headed out, turning out the light and closing the door behind me.

I lugged my suitcase downstairs and set it in the hallway near the front door, resting my back pack against it. I walked through the quiet downstairs and opened the back door, stepping onto the porch and then down the three stairs to the lawn. I leaned on the fence that looked over the parade ground and wondered why I was even contemplating that I'd miss this.

Hearing a door slam inside the house, I whispered a goodbye to my second childhood home and headed back in, locking the door behind me. I knew the Major would check it anyway but still did it out of habit. I made it to the foot of the staircase just a Rosalie finished dragging her bags down the stairs.

"Thanks for the help," she sniped.

"Rose, I know you're not happy about this, but we're going to have to stick together from now on…"

"Like hell we are!" she yelled. "You and Bella will be all happy families as soon as we arrive! You've been more like brother and sister than we have forever!"

Rosalie's yelling fits were nothing uncommon but I rarely raised my voice back at her. This time I did. "And I wonder why that is? You're so wrapped up in yourself, and think it's weak to show emotion…it's not like I've ever known you care!"

"Enough!" dad barked from the top of the stairs, making us both jump. "Jasper, put the bags in the car. Rosalie, move the car out for your brother and then make sure the garage is locked. I'll be out in a minute."

"Yes sir," we both mumbled.

Rose detoured into the kitchen to get the keys to dad's GMC truck while I started hauling suitcases out the front door. I had one – most of my clothes had gone to Forks the weekend before. Rosalie had three. By the time I carried our back packs outside, The Major was locking up behind me and Rose was already in the middle of the bench seat in the cab of the truck. I quickly loaded our stuff in the bed of the truck and climbed into the passenger seat as dad started the engine and flicked on the CD player, John Denver's voice filling the cab.

"_I'm leavin' on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again."_

I burst out laughing at the irony of it all while Rosalie reached out and turned the music off. "That's awful, dad," she whined, folding her arms and sitting back heavily against the seat.

We drove in silence for the first hour, each of us lost in our own thoughts. Around 7:30 Rose complained that she needed to pee so dad pulled in at the next truck stop. I climbed out so Rose could get out and walked around the parking lot until she came back.

The rest of the trip was just as uneventful. We pulled into the parking lot at the airport in LA just before 9:30. Dad and I unloaded the bags and he helped Rosalie carry hers to the terminal where he grabbed a luggage cart for us.

"Your tickets are paid for, and I've advised the airline that there is extra baggage – the costs will be charged to my credit card," he told us as we came closer to the doors.

"Thanks dad, for everything," I said, taking the luggage cart from him. Rosalie had already told him that he wasn't to come into the airport with us.

"Yeah, thanks for dumping us in some hick down with no sun," she muttered under her breath.

The Major tensed but to his credit he didn't react. In a rare moment of emotion, he said, "I love you kids more than anything else. If I could take you with me, I would." There was a moment of awkward silence before he continued. "Now you'd better get inside and check your luggage through so you've got plenty of time to find your gate."

He turned to Rosalie. "Rose? Can your old man get one more hug?"

She wrapped her arms around his middle and I saw her give him a squeeze. "Love you dad," she whispered as she pulled away.

I moved over to shake his hand but he pulled me into one of those awkward one armed hugs. "Be safe," he said to me. That was his way of saying I love you to me – I knew what he meant.

"You too, dad. I'll call you when we arrive at Uncle Charlie's."

With one last glance over our shoulders, Rose and I headed into the airport.

***

Once our bags were checked and we had our tickets we headed for the right gate. We cleared the security checkpoint and headed into the lounge where Rose sat and immediately pulled out her iPod and a magazine. I sat opposite her and then checked the clock on the wall, only to see we had an hour until we were going to be able to board.

Taking a deep breath, I leaned forward and tapped Rosalie on the shoulder.

"What?" she hissed, taking our one of her earbuds and leaving the other in.

"I'm going to get a coffee and something to eat – did you want anything?"

I almost fell off my seat when Rose sighed and then smiled before turning her iPod off and putting her magazine on the seat next to her. "I'm sorry I've been such a bitch this morning Jas. I'm just nervous and scared and excited and a thousand different things all at once." She laid her head back on the seat.

"It's ok – I'm not sure what to make of it all either. But Bella is looking forward to having both of us there, regardless of what you think," I told her.

Rose snorted. "Yeah right. What have I ever done to make Bella like me?"

I reached into my bag and pulled out my journal, removing the last email Bella had sent me and handing it to Rose. "Read that."

She started reading aloud, whispering the words.

"_Hi Jas, can't wait till you and Rose get here! It'll be nice to have another girl around – not that Alice isn't always around, but you get what I mean, right? You remember Alice? She's Edward's twin sister and Charlie adores her. I think she and Rose will get on really well – Alice loves clothes and shopping and all the stuff I'm not really into._

_I hope you guys aren't too nervous about coming here – Charlie is looking forward to seeing you both again. We'll both be picking you up from the airport when you arrive on Sunday and I think he wants to go out for dinner when we get home._

_Can't wait to see you guys!_

_Bella."_

Rosalie handed it back to me. "Bella wants to include me with her friends?" she asked softly.

"Rose, you and Bella might not have always been close, but she's got the kindest heart of anyone we know and she just wants us to fit in and be comfortable," I said.

"Who's this Alice?" she asked me, changing the topic slightly.

"From what I remember, like Bella said she's Edward's twin sister – did you meet Edward?" I couldn't remember if Bella and Edward had been dating last time Rosalie visited Forks with me.

"Tall, crazy hair?" she giggled. "Yeah, I met him. He seemed nice."

"He's a nice guy. I met Alice the last time I visited – you remember when Bella invited us to visit for a couple of weeks last summer but you didn't come?" Rose nodded so I continued. "She's nothing like Edward at all – she's tiny and totally hyperactive. I think I only met her the once, the day Bella took me to Edward's. They've got an older brother too – I think he'll be a senior this year like you."

Rose nodded again. "So at least I'll know someone?" she joked. "Now how's about that coffee?"

I laughed and stood up, leaving Rose to look after our stuff. I found a coffee shop and ordered two tall lattes, one on soy milk for Rose, and bought a couple of cookies to go with them.

I sat back down opposite Rose and handed her the coffee then shook the cookie bag at her. "Want one?"

She shook her head and took a careful sip of her coffee. "No thanks."

I shrugged and delivered the killer blow by pulling a macadamia and white chocolate cookie out of the bag – her favourite. "You sure?"

Rose offered a sheepish smile as she took the cookie from my hand. "Well, maybe just one."

I laughed before pulling a double choc chip from the bag for myself. We sipped and munched in silence, watching the people around us and their comings and goings.

"Finished?" Rosalie asked me a while later, standing with her now-empty cup. "I need to go pee."

I handed her my cup and the bag the cookies had been in. "Too much info, Rose."

She poked her tongue out and wandered off in search of a bin and a bathroom. While she was gone I checked the board and was happy to see that our flight was still scheduled to leave on time. I pulled out my phone and sent Bella a quick text;

_Hey Bells, our flight is still going on time, will see you in a few hours. Jas._

I figured since the drive from Forks to Seattle was about the same time as the flight from LA to Seattle that a bit of notice wouldn't hurt. My phone went off in my hand a few seconds later with Bella's response;

_Hey ugly, we're already on the road. Charlie says be safe. See you soon! B._

Once Rosalie was back I went for a walk to stretch my legs and decided I'd better hit the bathroom as well – I developed a phobia of plane toilets from a young age. I arrived back at the gate just as they started boarding first class passengers and those who needed assistance. I noticed Rosalie starting to fidget and suddenly remembered her fear of flying.

"Relax Rose, it'll be ok. I know you don't like flying…"

"I don't like taking off, Jasper. The flying part is ok," she interrupted me.

"Look at it this way," I suggested. "The taking off is only a few minutes at the most, then you've got a three hour flight to relax."

She shot me a dirty look, then her face softened into a smile. "Why are you so good to me?" she asked.

"You're my sister. I have to be," I joked. Seeing the hurt look on her face, I quickly covered my tracks. "Kidding! I'm good to you because everyone should be good to everyone else. And if I can't be good to my own sister, then there's not much hope, is there?"

"Love you too Jas," she quipped as our boarding call came over the loudspeaker. We stood and grabbed our back packs and lined up in the queue forming at the counter.

Fifteen minutes later after the safety talks from the crew, Rosalie's knuckles were white as we taxied down the runway. "Just a few minutes, just a few minutes," she chanted under her breath.

I suppressed a chuckle, knowing how much she hated this and also knowing that I'd have a bruise for a week if I made fun of her now. Once we reached cruising altitude she let got of the armrests and flexed her fingers.

"Now was that really so bad?" I teased gently.

"I'm still alive, so I guess that's something!" she replied, pulling her back pack from under her seat and pulling out her iPod and magazine once more. I followed suit and pulled out my journal, sitting it on my lap while I scrolled through my playlists until I found a mixed one to listen to. I folded down the tray table and opened my journal to the next blank page.

_Sunday_

_Well, we're on the way to live with Uncle Charlie. As in, right now we're on the plane. Rose is reading some trashy magazine and listening to her iPod so I figured now was as good a time as any to catch up with myself._

_I'm still not sure how I feel about the move. I guess I'm resigned to it. Rose is struggling with it still, but I have a feeling Bella and her friends will make it easier for both of us._

_This morning was a hoot – when we got in the truck with dad for the drive to LA, John Denver was in his CD player. You should have seen Rose's face when she realised it was 'Leavin' on a Jet Plane'. I'd think dad did it on purpose but I haven't really seen a sense of humour from him lately so I can't be sure._

_I don't want to admit it to Rose but I'm worried about The Major going to Guantanamo Bay. Not just because of what it is, but it's so far away. I know we'll see him at Christmas and all that stuff…I dunno._

_One thing I'm looking forward to is going fishing with Charlie. I kinda feel for him because Bella's not exactly the outdoors type. I know Edward and his brother go with Charlie sometimes so that could be good fun as well._

_I was strangely happy when Bella told me she was transferring to Whitlock Academy so she could go to school with Rose and me. The Major decided that the private school would be more "in line" with the curriculum we've been studying on the base instead of sending us to Forks High. So Bella being Bella convinced Charlie that she should transfer so we wouldn't be the new kids on our own. Then she told me that because she was transferring, Edward is too. (I know it's crass but I hope he's not just following his dick – I hope it's his heart as well – they've been together for a year so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt). And because Edward is transferring so are his brother and sister. So we're going to be the 'new kid brigade' or some crap like that. I think it's nice._

I read over what I had written and put my journal away again. Rosalie used to tease me for keeping a 'diary' but I knew she kept one too. The grief counsellor we saw after our mother died had suggested to us both that we keep a record of how we were feeling – I don't think she expected that we'd both keep it going for as long as we had. Not that we'd seen her in years, but I always felt better after I wrote my thoughts down.

Sneaking a glance over at Rosalie I stifled a laugh when I saw that she was already asleep. _Problems with flying my ass,_ I thought. I pulled out my book, "The Old Man and the Sea" and read until they came around to take orders for lunch. I gently woke Rose when the attendants started coming through the cabin and for the first time in history she wasn't grumpy.

We both ordered the chicken Caesar salad for lunch, mine with a Coke and Rose's with a bottle of water. For airline food, it wasn't too bad but it also wasn't anything spectacular.

I was surprised when, after our trays were cleared, Rosalie pulled a deck of cards out of her bag and asked if I wanted to play. She shuffled and then dealt the cards out for poker – dad had taught both of us to play when we were only small. We used to play for match sticks or toothpicks, then when we got a bit older we'd play for pennies. Rosalie would win almost every time – the girl had the best poker face of anyone I knew.

We played cards for well over an hour until the announcement came over the speaker that we would soon begin our descent. We finished the hand which Rosalie won again and she tucked the cards safely back into her bag. We locked our tray tables away and I settled in for the landing.

"Hey Rose," I said, suddenly intrigued by something.

"Hey Jas," she teased back.

"Why is it that you hate taking off but have no problems with landing?"

Rose opened her mouth to answer and then paused, a sheepish smile stealing across her face. "I don't really know. Food for thought, I guess."

We sat in silence as the plane landed. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Seattle. Current local time is five minutes past two. Today's forecast is for light cloud cover and possible showers. We hope you enjoy your stay, and thank you for flying with us. Good afternoon."

I looked at Rosalie as we stood and headed through the exit into the tunnel that would take us into the airport…where our new life was about to begin.


	3. Welcome to Wherever You Are

**A/N:** I don't own Twilight – it belongs to the genius that is Stephenie Meyer. I do own these incarnations of her characters that play games in my mind.

In case you haven't figured it out, each chapter is going to have a theme song. And no, I have no idea what the rest of them are going to be. Whatever seems to fit or is inspiring me, I guess!

Happy reading!

Welcome to Wherever You Are

We joined the queue of travellers fighting for a spot at the baggage carousel. Eventually I pushed my way to the front and Rosalie squeezed in behind me.

"I'll grab the bags and pass them to you, then we'll move them out of the way and find a baggage cart," I suggested.

"Works for me," Rose said, stepping back to leave a gap for our bags between us.

I smiled as I saw the first of Rosalie's three aqua suitcases coming around. I'd bought them for her for Christmas a couple of years ago – three in the set, plus a matching backpack and makeup case. The colour had reminded me of her eyes – not as stormy as mine, but still blue. She loved them because they weren't black. As a joke, she'd bought ribbon the same colour and tied it to the handles on my black suitcase so I could spot it in the airport. I hauled Rose's off the carousel and placed it behind me as I saw mine come through the flaps with another of the aqua cases behind it.

In less than five minutes we had all four of our suitcases and I left Rosalie with them while I went off in search of a baggage cart. I was still looking when my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out to see a message from Rose;

_Hey, Bella and Uncle Charlie are here with me. Don't need a cart._

I smiled as I shoved my phone back in my pocket and headed back towards the pole I had left Rosalie behind.

"Jasper!" I heard Bella squeal a split second before she smacked into me for a hug.

"Geez Bells, give a guy a chance to breathe!" I chuckled as she stepped back. I might be biased as her cousin, but Bella has always been gorgeous. Long dark hair, dark brown eyes and a not-too-thin figure. She'd always been self-conscious about her looks, but Edward was obviously good for her. I poked my tongue out at her as we walked over to where Uncle Charlie was talking with Rose.

"Jasper! It's good to see you!" he greeted me, extending his hand for a shake.

"You too Uncle Charlie," I replied. Turning to Bella, I added, "See? Some people are civilised in their greetings!"

It was Bella's turn to poke her tongue out as she grabbed the handle of the nearest suitcase and started hauling it towards the door. "Are we going to stand around chatting all day, or should we head home?" she teased.

"I need to find a bathroom on the way out," Rose said. "Then I'm all for heading…home."

I saw how she struggled over the last word and quickly stepped in. "I saw the bathrooms while I was looking for a cart. I need to go too." I turned to Uncle Charlie. "Can we meet you back here?"

He nodded and I motioned for Rosalie to follow me. "You ok?" I asked once we were out of earshot.

She nodded and I caught a glimpse of tears on her cheeks before she turned her head away. "I'll be ok," she said in a small voice. Taking a deep breath, she turned towards me with a smile. "Bella hugged me almost as violently as she hugged you – I think things will be all right."

Reaching over, I punched her lightly in the arm. "We'll get through."

As we approached the bathrooms, Rose suggested instead of hanging around waiting for each other that we should just meet back at our bags. I knew why – she hated public bathrooms as much as I hated bathrooms on planes.

I was first back but Rose wasn't far behind me. All four of us grabbed a bag and made our way to the parking lot. Uncle Charlie's car wasn't hard to spot. Being the Chief of Police in a small town, I knew he drove the cruiser everywhere and didn't have a 'normal' car of his own.

"Please tell me we're not riding in _that_," Rosalie whispered.

"Stop it," I hissed back. "Do you want to walk?"

Uncle Charlie and I loaded the bags into the trunk. "Who's riding up front?" he asked.

"Not me," Rose answered quickly.

"Problem?" Bella joked.

"No. Rose is just being a snarky bitch," I said with a smile. "I'll ride up front if that's ok?"

Bella opened the back passenger side door and climbed in, leaving Rosalie to sit on the other side. I buckled myself into the front seat and started looking over all the dials and other bits and pieces.

"I remember you loving cars as a kid, Jasper," Uncle Charlie said as he started the engine. "You too for that matter Rosalie." He looked at her in the rearview mirror and smiled.

"Still do," we answered in unison, sending Bella into a fit of giggles.

We talked about different things as we drove, from school on a Marine Corp base to how Bella's friend Alice had recently coated her mother's kitchen in banana smoothie when the lid came off the blender.

We stopped after a couple of hours for a toilet stop and then kept going. Just out of Forks Uncle Charlie turned the radio on and Bon Jovi was playing. Rosalie groaned and I knew without looking that she rolled her eyes. Bon Jovi were one of my favourites groups.

"Uncle Charlie? Do you mind if I turn it up a bit?" I asked.

"Not at all. And while we're at it, how about we drop the 'uncle' bit – it makes me feel old," he laughed.

"Done," I replied, turning up the dial as the chorus started:

_Welcome to wherever you are  
This is your life; you made it this far  
Welcome, you gotta believe  
That right here, right now you're exactly where you're supposed to be  
Welcome to wherever you are_

"Wow!" Bella exclaimed from the back seat. "Who knew Bon Jovi were so deep."

"That's one word for it," Rose muttered loud enough for me to hear.

I turned around and poked my tongue out at both of them before turning the radio down again.

"Charlie, Bella said you wanted to go out for dinner tonight…" Rose ventured.

"I thought it would be a nice relaxing first night for you," he answered, waving at someone outside his window as we rolled through an intersection.

"Well, I was just wondering where we'd go?" Rosalie continued.

Charlie laughed, a laugh not unlike our mother's. "Well Rose, Forks may be small but we _do_ have a couple of decent places to eat. I thought tonight we might just go to the diner. The food is good and there's a decent range to choose from."

"Sounds great," I said, jumping in before Rose could make a comment about the word 'diner'.

We turned right and then left into what I knew was the street our new home was on. Fifth house on the right, the white one with the big tree in the front yard…we pulled in and Charlie hit the remote for the garage door, which rolled up to reveal one empty space and…

"Bells! You got a new truck!" I exclaimed, taking in the newish looking truck in the garage and not even looking at the pile of boxes that were slightly obscured by a pole in the third space.

As soon as Charlie parked the cruiser Bella and I were out and looking at her truck. "Did you buy it new?"

"Nah – it's second hand but it's only got a couple of thousand miles on it," Bella said.

I spent my time walking around, taking it all in. Bella's old truck had been a real clunker, nothing like this.

"I'm not being rude, but do you even know what it is?" Rosalie asked. If there was something Rose was into besides clothes and boys, it was cars.

Bella smiled. "It's a 2007 Ford F150. The paint is called metallic blue flame. It goes like a dog shot in the ass and it's perfect," she filled us in.

Rosalie and I burst out laughing. 'It goes like a dog shot in the ass' was one of The Major's favourite sayings and there was no doubt it was also a favourite among the next generation.

"Enough profanity, young lady," Charlie said with a smile. "Let's get you two settled and you can relax for a while before we head out."

We all carried the bags inside and Bella led the way up the stairs. "Charlie's room is at the end of the hall, the next door is the linen closet, then Jasper's room, then the main bathroom and the toilet, then Rosalie's room, then my room on the other end," she instructed as we climbed.

"One bathroom for the four of us?" Rosalie asked.

"My bad," Bella corrected. "Charlie and I both have ensuites, and the guest room downstairs has a shower and toilet as well." She headed down the hall towards Rose's new room, opening the door and placing the suitcase just inside. "I'll leave you to it," she said, opening the door to her room and closing it behind her.

Charlie had carried my bag upstairs and then headed straight back down. I had Rosalie's third suitcase so I carried it to where she was still standing outside her door. "Everything ok?"

She took a deep breath and nodded before pushing the door open and stepping inside. I followed and smiled – the room was perfect. The walls were a cheerful yellow and the white carpet from the hallway continued into the bedroom. The furniture was a light wood and there was a white lamp on the desk.

"I'm guessing Bella picked all this out," I commented, indicating the covers on the bed and the simple decorations. The covers were a mix of blues, pinks and purples and there was a vase of flowers on the shelf above the dresser.

"It's perfect," Rose breathed, a genuine smile breaking across her face. She turned towards the door and yelled, "Thanks Bella," before lifting one of her suitcases onto the bed and starting to unpack.

Bella's door opened and she stuck her head in. "No worries – the rest of your stuff is in the third garage. Have you looked in your room yet Jas?"

"Nope – guess I'd better make sure it's not booby trapped!" I joked, heading out the door and down the hall. I grabbed my suitcase and opened the door, stopping as I stepped inside.

The carpet was the same as the rest of the upstairs, but the walls were a rich sienna brown. "Is it ok?" Bella asked, coming in behind me. "I wasn't sure about the white furniture…"

"I love it," I replied, smiling at her over my shoulder. I turned back to my new room and walked around, taking in the white furniture, the simple bed with its almost gold coverings and the way my guitar had been carefully set up in the corner. "You set it up!" I said, picking it up and cradling it in my hands.

"I couldn't leave it in the garage," Bella said. "Besides, I'm looking forward to having someone to play with!"

She left after a few minutes and I unpacked the clothes I had in my suitcase before heading to the bathroom to put away my toothbrush and the other toiletries I had. The vanity had three drawers and a cupboard under the sink, so I took the bottom drawer and half of the top shelf in the cupboard for myself, knowing that Rosalie would need much more space than I ever would.

An hour later Rose and I were showered and had unpacked our suitcases, and we loaded back into the cruiser to go to dinner. Bella sat up front with Charlie this time, giving me a few minutes alone with Rosalie.

"You ok?" I whispered.

"Yep," she whispered back, reaching over and squeezing my hand. "I think everything is going to be ok."

Charlie parked on the street and held the door for us as we walked in, Bella leading us to a table next to the window. "He likes to sit where he can watch the car," she said in a stage-whisper, raising her eyebrows innocently when Charlie looked over.

We looked quickly over the menu and Charlie and I both ordered steak while Bella and Rose both ordered the garden burger. The food arrived fairly quickly and our conversation dropped off while we ate.

The waitress came to clear our plates, stopping to ask, "Dessert, Chief?" to which Charlie held up four fingers.

While we were waiting, Bella filled us in on school. "We start a week from tomorrow – I already have all your books and stuff. The uniform shop is open tomorrow so I was thinking we could go with the Cullens…"

"Who?" Rose interrupted.

"Sorry – Edward and his brother and sister. Alice is Edward's twin and Emmett is a year older – he'll be a senior this year too," Bella filled her in, repeating some of the information I'd already given her. "Alice loves a good get-together so she's planning dinner and stuff for the six of us for tomorrow night, kind of a welcome to you guys and a get ready for school thing. Which reminds me," she said, turning to Charlie.

"Jasper, Rose and I have been invited to spend tomorrow night at the Cullen's. Carlisle and Esme are out of town but I thought it would be ok."

I swapped a quick glance with Rose. _Charlie lets Bella stay over at Edward's? While his parents are out of town?_ I thought, suddenly not so sure that Edward was good for Bella after all.

"As long as you promise me that it's just the six of you and there's no drinking, it's ok," Charlie replied. The look on his face made me realise that even he could see Bella wasn't his little girl any more, so I relaxed.

"Promise," Bella said, just as our dessert arrived.

Four very large serves of berry cobbler later, Charlie refused our money and paid for dinner before we got back in the cruiser and headed home. "I'd like to talk to the three of you before you wander off, if you don't mind," he said as we walked to the door.

"How about I make some tea?" Bella offered.

"Sounds good," Rose and I replied, following them into the kitchen.

The tea made and poured, we sat around the small kitchen table. "Well, Bella has pretty much filled you in on school. I just wanted to set some ground rules. I trust Bella implicitly and know she'll make the right decision, and have no doubt the two of you will be the same. I don't mind if you have friends over after school, but I do like to know who they are before they get here. If you have friends over, they need to leave by ten on school nights and midnight on weekends. Bella stays at the Cullen's once every couple of weeks, and Edward stays here now and again, too. When you two start dating, the same rules will apply, but not straight away and I want to meet their parents first. Your father has sent me money for the two of you to buy a car…"

Rosalie interrupted. "A car between us or a car each?"

Charlie smiled before continuing. "A car each, but Jack didn't send the full amount. I know you were both saving before you came here, so when you're ready I'm happy to take you looking, even though you both probably know more than I do. I expect you to get your homework done and in on time, and if you start falling behind in any of your subjects I want you to be honest and tell me. Dishonesty is not tolerated in this house and if you fail, whether it's a test or the whole subject you're grounded, plain and simple. I spend a lot of time at work and Bella pretty much runs this place – she does most of the cooking…"

"Because you can't," Bella interjected in a teasing voice.

"Because I can't," Charlie conceded, "but I expect all of us to pitch in with housework. I'm going to leave it up to the three of you to work out how it'll work, be it a roster or you notice it, you fix it. I'm happy to have you here and want this to work," he finished.

"We're happy to be here too," Rose replied, surprising me. "I mean, we'd love to be with dad, but being here we're with family and that's almost as good."

Charlie smiled, a warm smile, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Bella do the same.

"Do you guys still have unpacking to do, or did you want to watch a movie?" Bella asked.

"I'm all done so I'm up for a movie," Rosalie replied. "How about you Jas?"

"I'm good – what are we watching?" I was curious – Bella had a thing for weird movies.

"_Remember the Titans_?" she suggested. "I only got it last week and haven't watched it yet.

"Sounds good to me," Rose replied. "Will Edward be coming over?"

Bella shook her head. "Nah. I told him today was family day – I'll see him tomorrow. But I'd better give him a quick call about uniforms tomorrow – meet you guys in the living room in ten?"

I headed upstairs and brushed my teeth before pulling on my pyjamas and heading back downstairs. Rose was in her pyjamas on the couch already and Bella came in a few minutes later. She set the DVD up and sat between us on the couch.

Charlie stuck his head in to announce he was off to bed and he'd see us the following afternoon, reminding Bella that she had uniform money for the three of us.

The movie started and I settled back, thinking for some reason about the words of the song that had been on in the car:

_Welcome, you gotta believe  
That right here, right now you're exactly where you're supposed to be_

As I looked at Bella grinning next to me and Rose smiling on her other side, I knew it was true. That regardless of the fact that we weren't with dad at the moment, and it was all new and slightly scary, that for some reason I _was_ where I was supposed to be.


	4. Black or White

**A/N:** I don't own Twilight – it belongs to the genius that is Stephenie Meyer. I do own these incarnations of her characters that play games in my mind.

I owe a big apology to AzraTain – she suggested the theme song for the last chapter and I forgot to credit her with it. So here's my big, public THANKS!

No idea why I chose this song for this chapter – it was playing this morning when my alarm went off and it's catchy.

Happy reading!

Black or White

I woke the next morning when Charlie drove over a branch on the road, snapping it loudly. I rolled over to look at my alarm clock to see it was 6:30. I moved onto my back and stared at the ceiling for half an hour before giving it up as a bad joke and getting out of bed. I made it quickly and neatly before grabbing a pair of cargo shorts and a t-shirt and heading for the bathroom.

I took a longer than usual shower and was just about to open the door when there was a knock.

"Jas? Are you just about done?" Rose called softly.

I opened the door and smiled. "All yours – why are you whispering?"

She returned my smile and replied, "I didn't want to wake Bella."

"Bella's awake!" came her voice from the end of the hall a second before her door opened. "Morning! Why are we all up before seven on a non-school morning?"

I shrugged. "I was awake so I got up. And before seven is nothing unusual for us."

Bella snorted and rolled her eyes. "I struggle with before seven even on school days."

"Did we wake you?" Rose asked, concerned.

"Nah, dad must've run over something on his way out this morning – sounded like a firecracker! You guys wanna go out for breakfast before we go shopping?"

My stomach growled loudly and we all laughed. "I take that as a yes," Rosalie answered for both of us.

"Do you mind if I invite the Cullens? Since we all have to go buy uniforms anyway…" Bella trailed off.

"No worries," Rose replied for both of us again. "Give me twenty minutes?"

She headed into the bathroom while Bella and I returned to our respective bedrooms. I could hear her giggling through the wall and guessed she was calling Edward.

I picked up my guitar and sat cross-legged on my bed, strumming quietly but not really playing anything. I heard the water stop in the bathroom and then the hairdryer kicked in a few minutes later. A few random chords I played struck something in me so I grabbed my journal and wrote it down before I could forget. I played around for a bit longer, coming up with a few more phrases before Bella knocked on my door. "Let's go, ugly!" she called.

I carefully put my guitar back on the stand and pulled on a pair of socks before stuffing my feet into my still-tied runners. I grabbed my wallet and phone from next to my bed and took off down the stairs. I hit the ground just as the doorbell rang. "I got it!"

I opened the door and standing on the other side was the most gorgeous girl I'd ever seen. She wasn't short but she also wasn't tall, coming up to the middle of my chest. Her dark hair was shoulder length and dead straight, and her smile was a killer. "Hi, I'm Alice. You must be Jasper."

By the grace of God I managed to speak. "That's me! Nice to meet you." I offered my hand and was slightly taken aback when Alice dodged it and gave me a hug.

I heard a male laugh and looked up to see Edward coming onto the porch with another guy. "Let the man breathe Alice."

She let go and turned to poke her tongue out at him before darting past me towards the kitchen.

"How's it going?" Edward asked, shaking my hand before walking into the foyer. Without waiting for my answer, he introduced me to the other guy. "Jasper, my older brother Emmett. Em, Bella's cousin Jasper."

"Nice to meet you," we both said, shaking hands.

I closed the door and followed them into the kitchen. Bella introduced Edward and Emmett to Rosalie and she smiled politely at both of them, letting her gaze linger for a second longer on Emmett. The boys sat down either side of Alice while Bella finished her story. I wasn't really listening – I took the minute to compare the three Cullens.

Edward was close to my height, around six foot two. He was lean with crazy coppery hair and green eyes. Emmett was a bit shorter, closer to six feet, with curly dark hair and blue eyes. He was built like a brick outhouse and I immediately pegged him as a jock. Compared to her brothers, Alice was tiny. She was probably five foot six but next them she looked like a little girl. And she was gorgeous, plain and simple.

"Jas?" Bella was snapping her fingers in front of my face.

"Huh?" I asked, jumping slightly.

Everyone laughed, including me. "I asked if you wanted to ride with me and the girls or with the boys?"

"I'll go with the boys, if that's ok?" I looked over at Edward and Emmett and they nodded.

"Well what are we waiting for?" Alice cried, jumping up and clapping her hands.

Bella locked up behind us and I followed the guys to the monstrous Jeep in the driveway. "Yours?" I asked Emmett.

"My baby," he said, shooting me a grin as I nodded in appreciation. "What do you drive?"

"Nothing at the moment, I'd love an old Mustang though," I replied.

"You sit up front," Edward offered. "Get an idea of what's where around here."

"Thanks," I said, climbing into the passenger seat.

We chatted about cars on the way to the small café for breakfast, Emmett suggesting a couple of car places that specialised in cheap vintage cars. "You might need to do some work, but they've normally got pretty good engines."

We pulled into the parking lot just before the girls and they were all giggling as they climbed out of Bella's truck. I caught Edward rolling his eyes at Emmett, who in turn rolled his eyes at me. The three of us snickered which earned us glares from all three girls.

Ten minutes later we were seated in a booth, Edward and Bella in the centre, Emmett and Alice next to Edward and me and Rose next to Bella. The waitress brought over a pitcher of orange juice and a pot of coffee and we all took both. Emmett asked a thousand questions about growing up on a Marine Corp base which Rose and I answered. He was growing on me.

Soon after the waitress came back with our meals. "Pancakes with maple syrup and whipped cream?" That was Rosalie's. "Bacon and eggs, sunny side up?" Bella's. "Steak, sausage and eggs?" No surprise that was Emmett's. "Bacon, sausage, eggs and hash browns by two?" Edward and I had ordered the same thing. "And the all-day breakfast?" My eyes bugged out of my head as the biggest plate of all was placed in front of Alice.

"What?" she asked innocently.

"Where exactly are you planning on putting all that?" I asked.

"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day," she replied primly. "Besides, if I can't eat it all, Em will finish it off!"

Well, she ate the lot – two rashers of bacon, two pieces of toast, a couple of chipolata sausages, half a fried tomato and a hash brown.

"I seriously can't believe you ate all that," Rose said as the waitress cleared our plates.

"I don't normally eat that much," Alice confessed, "but I was hungry and I love this place!"

We sorted out the cheque at the table and Alice went over to pay. The rest of us waited for her in the parking lot. "Uniforms next?" she asked as she came over to us.

"What time does the place open?" Bella asked.

Alice dug through her handbag until she found a sheet of paper. She unfolded it and I recognised the Whitlock Academy crest on the top. "The uniform shop in the academy administration building will be open from nine am until noon, and then again from two pm until four," she read aloud.

I checked my watch. I was a ten before nine so I figured we'd be right on time. "How far is it from here?"

"It's on the outskirts on the opposite side of town to where we drove in last night," Bella answered. "Let's go kiddies!"

I rode in the Jeep with the guys again. As it invariably does, talk turned to girls. "Did you leave a girlfriend behind?" Edward asked.

"Nah – Rose and I were the only two our age on the base," I answered. "All the other kids our age got packed off to boarding school pretty early on, but The Major liked having his family close."

"The Major?" they both asked.

"Nickname Rose and I have for our dad," I explained. "I'd never say it to his face though! How about you Emmett? You have a girlfriend?"

"Nope. Most girls think I'm a jock so I'm only up for a good time. I want to go to college and eventually go to med school like dad, but people think because I like sports I must be an idiot."

I realised then just how wrong I'd been about him. "Wow – that's pretty cool. What do you want to do after high school?" I asked Edward, turning around to face him in the back of the Jeep.

"College and law school," he replied. "What about you?"

The million dollar question. One dad never liked the answer to. "Definitely college, then something to do with music I think. When we were little, Rose and I always wanted to open a garage together, restore classics and that kind of thing, but I don't know any more."

"Rose wanted to open a garage?" Emmett asked.

I laughed. "She knows more about cars than I do – she's a genius."

Emmett let out a low whistle between his teeth and I flashed him the don't-hit-on-my-sister look, even though he could take me with both hands tied behind his back. "I won't, don't worry," he said with a grin as we passed through a huge set of gates into Whitlock Academy. We followed the signs to 'Student Parking' and met the girls at Bella's truck.

As a group, we walked up the path towards the brick building marked as 'Administration' and joined the short queue of students. Somehow I ended up at the front of our group.

I got to the front of the line and approached the middle-aged lady at the desk.

"Name?" she asked.

"Jasper Hale," I replied.

"Thank you Mr Hale, you will need to go through the door to the right and you will be fitted shortly." She handed me a form with my name on the top.

"Bella, can I have my uniform money?" I asked, turning to Bella. She handed me and Rosalie identical envelopes with 'uniforms' scrawled on the front in what was undoubtedly dad's handwriting.

I headed into the shop and turned right where I entered a small dressing room.

"Good morning," the short man inside greeted me.

"Morning," I answered.

He handed me a clipboard and a pen. "If you could please fill out your sizes where you know them, then we can get started."

I started at the top of the list, working my way through shorts, trousers, shirts, socks, vests, jumpers and blazers. Once finished, I handed him back my list and he got to work. He handed me a pair of charcoal grey shorts and a pair of trousers the same colour, which I dutifully tried on. They fit fine and he was happy so I was handed two white shirts, one short sleeve and one long sleeve. They were also ok and next I was handed a navy vest, a maroon jumper and a black blazer. The blazer was a bit big so the last thing I was given to try on was a smaller one which fit perfectly.

"You may change back into your clothes now," the man said. "Your uniforms will be waiting for you when you come out."

I changed quickly and came out to find a sports bag stuffed to the brim. I picked it up and followed the hand-written 'way out' signs on the wall, paying what I thought was a ridiculous amount with the cheque dad had sent to Charlie for me.

An hour later we were done and Rosalie and Alice announced they were going shopping. Rose loaded her bag of uniforms into Bella's truck and got a lift with Alice and Emmett in the Jeep, while Edward gave his brother and sister his uniforms and came home with Bella and me in the truck.

We arrived home and carried the bags inside, where Bella insisted we sit down and go through them. I quickly took Rosalie's upstairs and set it at the foot of her bed before heading back down.

Edward sprawled on the couch while Bella and I opened our bags. Each of us had a personalised form letter on the top.

"Would you like the honour?" I teased.

"Most certainly," she said with a grin, shaking out her letter before reading it aloud;

"Dear Miss Swan. Congratulations on enrolling at Whitlock Academy. We are happy to provide you with your uniform for the upcoming school year. Below is a list of all items which should have been placed in your school-crested sports bag, for your use as appropriate. Should any of these items be missing, please contact the school immediately so you are prepared to begin as scheduled. Yours sincerely, Mary Cameron, Principal." Bella snorted. "What a load of shit. Oh well, better see what's in here!"

She continued reading, going down the list;

"Winter skirt, wool, two, maroon, navy and charcoal in colour. Summer skirt, pleated, two, maroon, navy and charcoal in colour. White ladies blouse, short sleeve, three. White ladies blouse, long sleeve, three. White knee-high socks, five pairs. White sport socks, three pairs. Skin-toned pantyhose, three pairs. School-crested vest, one, navy. School-crested vest, one, maroon. School-crested woollen jumper, one, navy. School-crested woollen jumper, one, maroon. Uniform blazer, one, black. Winter tie, two, navy and maroon in colour. School polo shirt, one, navy. School sports shorts, one pair, maroon. School-crested back pack, one, charcoal." She snorted again. "You have to be fucking kidding me right? They even provide socks and pantyhose?"

We all rolled around laughing for a minute. "All right smartass, let's hear yours!" Bella said, stopping us boys cold.

The list was similar – charcoal shorts and trousers instead of the skirts, black socks to be worn with the trousers and…"Charcoal knee high socks with navy and maroon banding, three pairs, to be worn with school shorts." Bella roared with laughter while Edward and I both went pale.

"No way am I wearing fucking knee high socks," he grumbled.

"I'm with you," I said, continuing down the list. Three long sleeve and three short sleeve shirts. It was all pretty much the same as Bella's except mine had an extra tie. "Male students must wear ties at all times, with the exception of sporting events," I read aloud.

Bella giggled again. "How about I go make lunch?" She turned to Edward. "Can you please take my bag upstairs for me?"

While Bella made sandwiches Edward and I carried uniforms upstairs. We ate together and were just cleaning up when Alice and Rosalie came in from shopping.

"Look what we got!" Alice chirped, pulling six paper bags from her handbag and checking what was inside each one before handing them out. I opened the bag and pulled out a small package. It read 'Iron-on Labels' and each label in the pack had my name in neat blue stitching.

"Al, what are they?" Edward asked, confused.

"We figured that since we're all going to have matching uniforms it might be helpful to be able to sort them out," Rose answered.

"Good plan," Bella said.

"And we have vouchers to get our ties monogrammed as well, the school provided them, they're in with all our stuff but they're not on the list," Alice filled us in. "Maybe we can drop them all off together tomorrow. But right now, you guys need to get ready to come to our place!"

Bella, Rose and I quickly packed for the night at the Cullen's, making sure to pack swimmers at Alice's insistence.

Alice and Rose led the way in Alice's bright yellow Volkswagon Beetle, apparently known as Bessie, and Edward and I rode with Bella in her truck, which hadn't been named as yet.

"Alice has this weird fascination with naming things," Edward filled me in. "Emmett's Jeep is called Bear and my Volvo is Merlin. No-one really calls them that except for her."

I shook my head and laughed. Alice was crazy and hyperactive and totally infectious.

We pulled into the driveway of the Cullen's house and my jaw dropped. The place was a veritable mansion. "Nice, huh?" Bella joked.

"Just a little," I gasped as we parked out the front.

Edward showed me to a guest room across the hall from his room, while Alice showed Rose to a room across from her bedroom. I spent the next couple of hours playing Guitar Hero with Emmett and Edward while the girls made salads and did who knows what else.

"Emmett!" Alice called. "It's almost time to get the grill going!"

"Sweet!" Emmett cried, making him miss a couple of notes. "Aw shit!"

We finished the song and Emmett sprinted upstairs to get changed. "You two need to change as well," Alice called out to Edward and me. "Swim trunks and t-shirts, that's it!" She walked through the door as she finished her sentence and I froze. She was wearing a blue and white striped bikini top and a tiny pair of white shorts. I reacted like your normal teenage boy – I got hard.

"C'mon Jas, you don't want to argue with her," Edward mumbled. I followed him mutely up the stairs. "See you in a few," he called, disappearing into his room.

"Shit, shit, shit, fuck, shit!" I whispered under my breath, willing my erection to go down. _How am I going to fucking deal with this?_ I thought as I changed out of my cargos and into my swim trunks. _She's so fucking hot, but Edward and Emmett would kill me,_ was the next thought as I headed back downstairs.

The kitchen was empty but I could hear music coming from outside. "Hello?" I called.

"Out here Jas," came Bella's voice.

I followed it through the open back door and down the stairs to the patio Emmett had showed me before. He was dancing around the grill in a white wife-beater and bright red swim trunks to the Michael Jackson song that was blaring from the stereo.

Edward and Bella were on a small covered swing together and Alice and Rose were sitting on the edge of the pool with their feet in the water. I was relieved to see that Alice had put a t-shirt on.

I straddled the bench at the picnic table and laughed along with the others when Emmett tried to moonwalk in his bare feet.

"Time to get the salads and shit ladies," he announced as he dumped onion onto the grill.

"Lovely Em," Alice said, standing up and drying her feet before leading Bella and Rose into the house. They brought out plates and cutlery, a six pack of Coke, a couple of bowls of salad and a loaf of bread.

Emmett started singing along to, "Black or White", using his tongs as a microphone.

"Emmett McCarty Cullen, stop that racket or I'll use those tongs to turn you into a soprano," Alice threatened.

Emmett stopped in his tracks and then turned off the grill. "Dinner's ready anyway, you little pixie," he said smiling at Alice.

She returned the smile, flashing almost identical dimples back at him. We all sat down to eat and I ended up across the table from Alice. _It's ok, she's wearing a shirt,_ I kept telling myself.

I made it through dinner and cleaning up, then Bella declared it was time to use the pool. We all headed back outside and I reached the patio just as Alice stepped out of her shorts and pulled off her shirt. I froze again. "Last one in's a rotten egg!" Bella yelled, ripping off her shirt and diving in.

We spent the next hour in the pool, racing each other, splashing and generally having a ball.

"What's next?" Emmett asked. It turned out to be a loaded question.

"I am NOT joining in your stupid wrestling games Emmett," Alice replied. Before she finished though, Emmett had her sitting on top of his shoulders.

Edward and Bella teamed up and Rosalie and I laughed as Bella easily pushed Alice off Emmett's shoulders into the water.

"Let's make this a bit more fair," Rosalie suggested. "Jasper is probably the tallest and Alice is definitely the shortest, how about they pair up and I'll go with Emmett?"

The only thought my hormone-riddled brain could come up with was, _Alice is going to have her legs around my neck_. I pulled myself together though and by the end of the night we were the undisputed champions.

"Way to go, partner!" she cried, hugging me as we got out of the pool.

I felt my dick twitch and hugged her back quickly. "Come on, let's get inside before we all catch cold."

The temperature had dropped dramatically so we all dried and dressed quickly. I literally ran into Emmett in the hallway. "Bella's making hot chocolate in the kitchen," he said.

"Works for me," I answered, heading for the stairs.

"Jasper, can I have a sec?" he asked.

_Oh shit, he saw me getting turned on by his sister_.

"Ok…" I answered slowly.

"It's about Rose," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "She's pretty awesome…"

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Emmett, are you asking my permission to date my sister?" I smiled.

"Yeah…no…kind of?" he grinned. "I like her and stuff…maybe I'm asking if it'll be ok soon?"

I laughed at his unease. "Treat her right, I've got no problem."

"Sweet."

We headed downstairs and drank hot chocolate with everyone else. Around midnight Bella and Edward headed off to bed.

"Give them an hour," Emmett advised.

"Huh?" Rose and I were both confused.

"They haven't spent a night together for almost two weeks – you don't need to be hearing that," Alice explained.

I shuddered and it had nothing to do with the temperature in the room.

"I don't know what you're shuddering at – my room is next to hers at home!" Rose squealed.

Alice, Emmett and I all laughed. "It's ok Rose, you have your iPod," I consoled her.

An hour later we were falling asleep in the living room when Emmett decided to go and see if the coast was clear. He came back in and gave us a silent thumbs up so we headed off to bed.

"Night all," Rose whispered as she went into her room.

"Night," we all whispered back.

I slid between the sheets and my mind immediately drifted to Alice. Knowing she was just down the hall made me hard all over again. With no conscious though, I began stroking myself, picturing her in her bikini, hugging me after our wrestling in the pool.

All of a sudden I realised what I was doing. _You can't jack off in someone else's house you fucker!_ I berated myself. _Especially not when the girl you're thinking about is less than fifty metres away!_

I folded my hands behind my head to take away the temptation. It didn't work. In the end I rolled over onto my stomach and pressed myself into the bed. Sleep came slowly but when it did, I dreamt of Alice dancing by the pool, in her bikini, while Emmett sang 'Black or White' into a pair of tongs.


	5. Pop ular

**A/N:** I don't own Twilight – it belongs to the genius that is Stephenie Meyer. I do own these incarnations of her characters that play games in my mind.

My apologies for the no update last week – a good part of it was spent in bed with a cold. I could barely remember my own name at one point so trying to write something fictional could have been…interesting. I'm hoping to get chapters five and six out next week though to make up for it – but please don't hold me to that!

Happy reading!

Pop!ular

The next morning was a quiet breakfast of cereal and toast out on the patio in the crisp air. Bella, Rosalie and I helped clean up from the night before and then we headed home, but not before Rose promised Alice she would go shopping with her later in the week.

The rest of the week passed fairly quickly. Bella showed us around Forks for a day and the three of us spent a day just lazing around the house. Rose and Alice went shopping but Bella stayed behind with me – we ended up going grocery shopping and made pizzas for dinner.

Friday night we went to Port Angeles with Alice, Edward and Emmett for dinner and a movie. We went to a steakhouse for dinner and I was once again surprised at just how much Alice ate. The movie was some action thing that Edward and Emmett picked – apparently it was their turn. Somehow I ended up on the end of the row with Alice next to me, which started out being quite uncomfortable for me until we started sharing her popcorn. The occasional touch of her hand in the dark as we went for the popcorn at the same time was exciting but relaxing all at the same time.

Saturday Charlie spent the day fishing with his friend Billy somewhere out near the Indian reservation. I slept late for the first time in my life and didn't make my bed when I finally got up. I wandered downstairs in my pyjamas to find Bella eating Cheerios at the kitchen table.

"Morning," she greeted me after swallowing.

"Howdy," I drawled, tipping an imaginary cowboy hat at her as I pulled a bowl from the cupboard and spoon from the cutlery drawer before joining her at the table. "Rose up yet?"

Bella nodded as she chewed her next mouthful. "Emmett picked her up about an hour ago."

My spoon froze halfway to my mouth. "Who did what now?"

"Emmett offered to take her looking at cars when we went to the movies the other night, so he picked her up this morning. I think you and Alice might have been at the candy bar," she explained. "Is there a problem?"

"Not really, it's just weird. Rose is out with your boyfriend's brother, and I…" I abruptly cut myself off by shovelling a spoonful of cereal into my mouth.

Bella looked at me suspiciously. "And you what?"

"Nothing," I mumbled around my food.

"Alice is cute, I don't blame you," Bella said softly.

I swallowed carefully and chanced a look at her. She was serious. "Huh?" I tried to play it cool but the look on her face told me it didn't work.

"Just take it slow with her, ok? Let her warm up to you, let her take the lead," Bella advised as she dumped her bowl in the sink. "Charlie invited the Cullens over for dinner tonight, so you'll get to spend a bit more time with her before school starts Monday. Which reminds me – want to come shopping for more food?"

I nodded my head. "Gimme twenty minutes and I'll be ready."

Bella left the room and I heard her shower start. I quickly ate the rest of my cereal while trying not to replay Bella's words in my head. I washed both of our bowls and left them to drain before heading upstairs and showering.

Twenty five minutes later I was behind the wheel of Bella's truck and heading towards the grocery store. "You're sure you trust me to drive?" I asked for the fourth time.

Bella just giggled. "I trust you Jas," she replied again. "You have to start finding your way around eventually!"

"So what's for dinner?" I asked Bella. It seemed like she did most of the cooking.

"Well, Charlie caught a whole lot of fish a while ago and it's in the freezer, so I'm going to do a lemon and herb fish thingy, I was thinking I'd make a salad to go with it and make some baked potatoes as well. Not sure about dessert though…" she mused.

"How about I deal with starters and dessert then? I make a mean strawberry cheesecake, and anyone can make a cheese platter right?" I offered.

"Really? That would be awesome – I could spend a bit more time on setting the table and things that way!" Bella bounced in her seat as I pulled into the parking lot.

"Rose can always help too – you don't have to do everything on your own any more," I reminded her.

"I just keep forgetting," she admitted. "It's just been me and Charlie for so long, and he's not usually around for all the preparation stuff. It's going to take some getting used to but I'm really glad you guys are here!"

We spent forever picking out cheeses and the right fruit to go with them, then another lifetime choosing crackers as well. It was fun really – Bella knew a lot about food. We grabbed all the ingredients for my cheesecake and Bella picked out salad vegetables and picked up a few things to make a dressing with.

"I just want to make one quick stop," she said as we loaded everything into the back seat of the truck. She gave me directions and we pulled up outside the party supply store.

I raised an eyebrow as Bella started looking at different napkins. "Are we having a theme, Bella?" I asked as she picked up a packet of maroon ones.

"Well, it's kind of a back to school thing, so I was thinking we could theme the napkins with the school colours or something," she replied, picking up some dark blue ones as well. "We have old pewter napkin rings at home that could be the grey part, what do you think?"

I laughed. "I'm a guy – I have no idea. Rose would be your best bet but since she's not here I'm going to tell you to trust your gut."

She nodded her head and headed for the register, picking up some plastic plates and then discarding them again on the way.

When we arrived home Emmett's Jeep was in the driveway. "Play nice," Bella said with a smirk and I picked up the last of the grocery bags from the back seat.

Emmett was walking out the front door as we walked up. "Hey Bells, Jasper," he greeted, reaching out to shake my hand then pulling his hand back again when he realised I was totally loaded up with bags. "Need a hand?"

"We've got it," Bella answered. "See you at dinner!"

"See ya," Emmett echoed as he headed to his car.

"How was car shopping?" I asked Rosalie as I dropped the groceries on the bench.

"It wasn't really shopping, just looking. I found a Camaro that's in pretty good shape that I'll think about, the same place had a couple of Mustangs that you might be interested in as well," she answered. Seeing the look on my face, she continued, "And Emmett was a gentleman – he even opened my door for me!"

Turning so Rosalie couldn't see, I rolled my eyes before helping Bella put the groceries away. We had a quick lunch together and Charlie arrived home just as we were cleaning up.

The Cullens arrived just before six and Bella introduced Rosalie and me and Dr and Mrs Cullen, who insisted on being called Carlisle and Esme. Charlie uncorked a bottle of wine for Esme and offered small glasses to Bella, Rosalie and Alice. Bella and Rose took theirs but Alice declined. "I'm driving," she explained. Carlisle handed Charlie and beer and offered one to each of us three boys, Emmett and Edward accepted but I passed. I wasn't a big fan of beer, even though The Major had let me drink it with him on occasion. Plus, I was hoping it would score me a couple of points with Alice.

"Can I get you a Coke or something?" I asked her. "I'm getting one for myself…"

"That would be great Jasper, thanks," she said with a smile.

I headed for the kitchen with a grin and collected myself before heading back out. Rose and Bella set out the cheese and fruit platters they'd put together while I made my cheesecake. We all settled in the living room and Bella kept ducking into the kitchen to check on dinner.

After her last trip she announced that dinner would be ready in five minutes, and asked us to make our way into the dining room. Rosalie had folded the blue and maroon napkins together for each person and unbeknownst to me had also made little place cards for everyone. Being a round table there wasn't really a head position, but Charlie was seated in a prominent place. Esme and Carlisle were to his left, then Emmett, then Rosalie, then Edward, then Bella, then me and then Alice. "Subtle, Rose," I whispered in her ear.

She shrugged imperceptibly as Bella started carrying dinner in. The food was amazing and there wasn't a scrap left at the end of the meal. Rosalie and I stood to clear the table, explaining to Bella that where we came from, the cook didn't clean up. Alice and Edward joined in – Emmett was deep in discussion with Charlie about sport.

The four of us cleaned up quickly and I pulled dessert out of the fridge. Alice's eyes grew wide. "Wow!"

"Thanks," I said, rummaging around in the drawer for a cake lifter.

"How do you mean, thanks?" she asked.

I turned around with the cake lifter in my hand to discover that we were alone – Bella and Edward had gone back to the dining room without me noticing. "Sorry?" My brain was spinning with the thought of being alone with her.

"I said, how do you mean, thanks?" she repeated, smiling a little.

"Oh! I made this," I said, gesturing to the cake.

"That's really cool – Edward and Emmett struggle to make toast and get it right!" she joked.

I was floating on air. "Could you grab the dessert plates off the bench and carry them in? I'm kind of loaded up," I said as I picked the cheesecake up.

"Sure thing!" she chirped, grabbing the plates and following me back into the dining room.

The cheesecake was a success and it was almost eleven when the Cullens finally left. I shook hands with Carlisle and got a kiss on the cheek from Esme as they headed out the door. Bella and Edward arranged for the three younger Cullens to meet us at home half an hour before school on Monday so we could all go together, then they headed outside to say their goodnights in private. When they re-emerged Emmett and Alice headed for her car and we waved as they drove away.

Sunday was spent lazing around and we all headed off to bed fairly early. I made sure to set my alarm before I settled under the covers, and was drifting off when my phone beeped with a message next to my bed;

_Hi Jasper, thanks for being a non-drinker with me last night – you're really sweet. Sleep tight! xAlice_

_Alice? _I thought. The only Alice I knew was…_But how did she get my number?_ The only logical explanation was that Bella or Rose gave it to her. I quickly messaged back,

_You're welcome, and you're pretty sweet yourself. See you in the morning! Jas._

I placed my phone back on my nightstand and drifted off into a happy sleep.

***

I woke before my alarm the next morning and quickly made my bed before heading downstairs to eat breakfast in my pyjamas. The last thing I wanted to do was spill something on my uniform.

Charlie was already at the table when I walked into the kitchen. "You're up early," he commented.

I shrugged. "I was awake and knew my alarm would go off soon, so I figured I might as well make a start."

"You're just like your old man," Charlie joked, placing his plate and coffee mug in the dishwasher. "See you at dinner!"

"Bye," I replied vaguely as I measured coffee grounds into the dripper. I dug around in the pantry and pulled out the ingredients for pancakes. I served up three plates just as the coffee finished and Bella shuffled into the kitchen.

"Morning," I greeted her, setting the pancakes down on the table.

"Mmm coffee," was her reply. "Want some?"

"Yes please," I answered. "Just gotta get Rose up and moving."

I walked to the bottom of the stairs and called up to Rosalie. Instead of being greeted with the usual, "fuck off," I heard her call out something about being down in a minute.

I headed back to the kitchen and sat with Bella, sipping my coffee until Rose came down. She smiled when she saw the pancakes. "You remembered!"

"Remembered what?" Bella asked as she cut into her stack.

"Pancakes on the first day of school are a tradition – dad always used to make them for us," I filled her in.

We ate quickly and Bella and Rosalie cleaned up while I headed for the shower. I shaved quickly and headed back to my room, opting for trousers instead of the shorts with their ridiculous socks and pulling the navy blazer on over my shirt and tie. I threw my wallet into my already-packed bag and headed downstairs to wait for the girls.

I was surprised when Rosalie was the first one down. She was wearing the navy vest as well with her tie, the pleated skirt and knee-high white socks. She sat primly on the couch next to me and a split second later we cracked up laughing at each other. "We should take a photo for The Major," she choked through her giggles.

"What's so funny?" Bella asked, coming down the stairs. She was wearing the maroon vest but other than that she was dressed the same as Rose. "Fuck, how bad do we look?"

We all started laughing again and only collected ourselves when the doorbell rang. The door opened before we could get to it and Emmett walked in with Edward and Alice in tow.

"What's up, prepsters?" he asked.

The six of us looked at each other and the laughs started again. Once we got ourselves under control we took a few photos out the front of the house – one of the Cullens, one of Bella on her own, one of Rose and me and then Bella grabbed the newspaper delivery guy to take one of the six of us. Once Bella was satisfied that we had enough pictures we headed off to school – Bella rode with Edward in his Volvo and Rose and I opted for the Jeep with Emmett and Alice.

We followed the semi-familiar route to the student parking lot and I was relieved to see that everyone else looked just as dorky as we did. We got a few glances as we made our way up to the grassy area scattered with picnic tables where most of the students seemed to be gathering.

"Does anyone else feel like a monkey at the zoo?" Bella asked, prompting Emmett to start dancing around like a monkey.

"Good old Emmett, always knows how to ease the tension and draw more attention in one go," Alice joked.

We sat together and when the bell rang we followed everyone to the auditorium. The same guy who had fitted me for my uniform was standing in at the door we went through giving directions. "Freshmen and sophomores please sit on the ground level. Juniors and seniors please move to the second floor," he repeated every thirty seconds or so.

I followed Alice up the stairs, averting my eyes as her perfect little butt swayed back and forth in front of my face. Once we hit the second floor there were signs directing juniors to the front rows and seniors towards the back. We said goodbye to Emmett and Rosalie and Bella led the way to a row close to the front.

The first hour was your standard school assembly – welcome back, new staff, welcome to new students, blah, blah, blah. The freshmen were excused first with the sophomores following about 15 minutes later. The juniors were called to the ground floor while the seniors were asked to remain upstairs. We settled into the rows closest to the stage with close to 200 classmates.

Two male and one female teacher stood in front of us and introduced themselves as Mr Smith, Mr Brown and Ms Jones and explained they were our year coordinators. If we had any problems they were the people to go and see. They called the roll which took a good ten minutes because we were asked to move so we were seated in alphabetical order. We were given our class schedules and new students were given a map of the school so we could find our way around.

Once we were dismissed I caught up with the others and we quickly compared classes. The first hour had gone with the all-school assembly and the second hour only had ten minutes left – we weren't sure if we were expected to go to that class or not.

A pretty girl with long dark hair in a ponytail and glasses walked over to us, smiling. "You guys are new, right?"

Alice answered for all of us. "Hi, yeah. I'm Alice, this is my brother Edward. This is Bella, and her cousin Jasper."

The girl giggled. "I'm Angela – I thought you might need some help figuring things out."

"That would be great," Bella replied. "Do we go to our second class, or head straight to third?"

"There's no point going to second, what have you all got next?" Angela asked. She took a quick look at our schedules. "OK. Edward, Bella, you both have biology, head towards the building with the black roof, the bio labs are on the ground floor. Jasper, you have music, it's on the second floor of the admin building. And Alice, you have economics with me, so you definitely won't get lost!"

Alice peered quickly at our schedules as well. "Hey, we all have lunch together! That's cool!"

Angela giggled again. "I have lunch with you guys too – mind if I tag along?"

We all answered no just as the bell rang. "Time to get moving," Edward said. "See you guys at lunch." He and Bella walked off holding hands.

"Hey guys," Angela called after them. They turned to look at her. "I wouldn't get caught holding hands – the principal has this thing about guys and girls being too 'friendly' with each other."

"Thanks for the warning," Bella called back as they turned and headed for the science building, walking close but not touching.

I said goodbye to Alice and Angela and found my way to the music rooms. My teacher was nothing like I expected to find in a private school. Mr Rawlins insisted we call him James in class, he had a ponytail and a goatee. We spent the hour talking about our musical influences and what we would like to learn over the next school year. When the bell rang I grabbed my bag and pulled out my map, trying to find the cafeteria.

"Need a hand?" a guy whose name I couldn't remember asked. "You're new, right?"

"Yeah, just trying to figure out where I go to eat," I replied.

"I'm Ben," he said, extending his hand.

"Jasper."

"I can walk with you if you want – I have lunch now too," Ben offered.

As we walked down to the cafeteria together, he asked where I'd moved from and how I was liking Forks so far. As we arrived at the cafeteria doors I heard someone calling my name. I turned to find Alice waving as she walked down the stairs with Angela.

"Hey Alice, Angela. This is Ben," I introduced them.

Ben laughed. "Ang is my girlfriend. Nice to meet you Alice."

"You too – I've heard a lot about you," she answered.

We headed in and I saw Emmett waving at us from across the room. "Seniors eat with juniors?" I asked.

"Yep," Angela said. "Everyone eats together – there's two lunch periods."

The four of us lined up together and I grabbed a ham and salad sandwich, an apple, and a bottle of water. After we paid I led the way over to where Emmett was sitting…with Rosalie. Swallowing my temper, I quickly introduced Ben and Angela, then introduced Ben to Edward and Bella when they arrived a few minutes later.

After lunch I headed to English class with Bella and Alice, and we met Edward, Ben and Angela for last period gym. We were told not to change, but to sit in the bleachers. The teacher went over all the sports and related activities offered at Whitlock Academy, and encouraged us to sign up to try out for different things. There were tables set up around the gymnasium and we had the hour to talk to our friends and the coaches before putting out names down.

"What are you going to try out for?" Angela asked Bella.

Bella snorted. "Are you kidding me? I struggle to walk in a straight line, let alone play sport.

"How about the swim team?" Angela suggested. "You don't need to be able to walk for that – I'll even go with you!"

Angela was really growing on me – she was such a warm and friendly person. Ben seemed like a nice guy too.

"You going to try out for anything Jasper?" he asked.

"I think I'll try out for baseball – I've always liked playing," I said slowly.

"That makes two of us," Edward cut in.

"Make it three!" Ben chimed in.

"How about you Alice?" I asked, trying to draw her into the conversation.

"I was on the cheerleading squad at Forks High last year, I might try out here as well," she said quietly.

"You'll do great," Edward said to her with a smile.

We all moved off, the girls going one way and us guys going the other. All three of us put our names down for baseball and the coach told us tryouts would be the following afternoon at 4pm.

After the final bell for the day the six of us headed to the parking lot together. Rosalie and Emmett were waiting for us next to his Jeep. "Want a ride?" he asked as we approached.

"Well I'm not walking!" I answered with a grin.

"I'm going to go with Edward, we have a biology assignment we need to start," Bella announced, blushing a little.

"_Biology_ assignment, huh?" Emmett teased. "Mind if I hang out at your place?" he continued, turning to Rose.

"Fine with me. Jas, do you mind?" she asked.

I shrugged before turning to Alice. "Did you want to hang out for a while?"

She nodded before climbing into the Jeep. "What are we waiting for?" she called to Emmett before closing the door.

The afternoon was a lot of fun. The four of us sat around the kitchen table, talking about classes and teachers and making a start on the small amount of homework we had. Alice and Emmett left around six, and Bella arrived home half an hour later.

"How was your assignment?" Rose asked with an innocent look on her face, totally ruined by the glint in her eye.

Bella at least had the decency to blush. "You guys suck. What do you want for dinner?"

"Shouldn't we wait for Charlie?" I was still unsure of how it all worked.

Bella shook her head before going for the Chinese take-out menu. "He won't be home till late, he'll just reheat some leftovers."

We picked a few different dishes and watched the news while we waited for it to be delivered.

"Are you trying out for baseball?" Rosalie asked me out of the blue while we were eating.

I nodded and swallowed my noodles before answering. "Yep. Edward and Ben signed up with me as well. Bella's going to try out for the swim team."

"That's great Bella!" Rose said sincerely. We both knew Bella wasn't great at sports. "I'm going to try out for the cheerleading squad."

"So is Alice," Bella and I said at the same time.

"How does that work exactly?" I wondered aloud. "Do they have one squad for the whole school or what?"

"There's one squad for the freshmen and sophomores, and one for the juniors and seniors. There has to be two captains, one from each grade, chosen by the squad members and the coach," Rose filled us in.

We spent the night watching TV together until Charlie came home around ten. "Shouldn't you kids be getting ready for bed? It's a school night," he said, heading for the kitchen. I heard the fridge open and the microwave start.

"Bad day," Bella whispered, nodding towards the stairs. "Just call out goodnight and make a run for it."

We all called out our goodnights to Charlie before heading upstairs to our respective bedrooms. The message light on my phone was flashing so I picked it up as I kicked off my shoes.

_Hi Jasper, just wanted to say I had fun hanging out with you this afternoon. Maybe we can do it again sometime? xAlice_

My heart jumped in my chest as I read her message. I knew that 'you' probably meant me and Rose, but part of me hoped that she only meant me. I quickly got ready for bed and messaged her back once I was under the covers;

_Hey Alice, I had fun too. Maybe we can study together some time next week? Sleep tight, Jas._

I stared at the ceiling for a while, planning first dates and all sorts of crazy stuff, before my eyes grew heavy and I drifted off to sleep.


	6. Girlfriend

**A/N:** I don't own Twilight – it belongs to the genius that is Stephenie Meyer. I do own these incarnations of her characters that play games in my mind.

So it doesn't look like I'll get two chapters out this week, but you never know your luck in a big city – we'll see.

Thanks to all of you who are reviewing! I know Jasper is never going to get as much attention as Bella and Edward, but it's nice to know that people are reading and enjoying what I'm coming up with.

Happy reading!

Girlfriend

I woke on Saturday morning when my phone beeped quietly next to my bed. I rolled over and grabbed it, rubbing my eyes before I read the message;

_Hi Jas, just wondering if you had any plans tonight? xAlice_

My heart skipped a beat in my chest. Rosalie was going on her first official date with Emmett and Bella was going somewhere with Edward, which left me at a bit of a loose end. From her message, it sounded like Alice was in a similar predicament, so I was hoping she might want to do something with me.

_Nope, just me on my lonesome. Want to see a movie or something? J_

I held my breath as I hit send. When I didn't get a message back right away I panicked, then told myself she was probably having breakfast or something and was away from her phone.

I flopped back against my pillows and thought back over the past week. It had been your general first week of school – classes, meeting new people and all the usual stuff.

Emmett had made the football team and was unanimously elected as captain – apparently Whitlock Academy was more than a little excited to have stolen Forks High's most valuable player. Edward and I both made the junior baseball team and after practice on Wednesday the team voted for a captain. Mike, one of the guys I didn't know, nominated me and somehow I was chosen. We all went out for burgers afterwards and I was surprised at how easily I was fitting in – not like the 'new kid' at all.

Alice and Rose had both tried out for the cheer squad and had both made it. They went shopping together Wednesday after school and Alice was dropping Rose off when Mike dropped me off after dinner. Alice and I had chatted about the assignment we'd been given in English that day and she suggested we could work on it together. We decided to get together the following day after school at her place. It worked out well in the end because Bella had swim team tryouts and Rose was going to look at cars with Emmett again.

I had been nervous about being alone with Alice – this was the girl I'd been dreaming about since I met her and I was afraid I'd screw up any chance I had. I needn't have worried – spending time with Alice felt as natural as spending time with Rose or my dad.

She had pulled into my driveway just before seven and cut the engine. "Did you want to come in and see Bella? She should be home by now," I said.

Alice turned to look at me and I was once again taken aback by just how gorgeous she was. "I should get home – Thursday nights dad brings some kind of take-out home with him and I'd like to get some before Edward and Emmett eat it all," she joked with a smile.

Our eyes had locked and the car was suddenly charged with electricity. Acting on instinct, I reached out and lifted her hand to my lips, placing a soft kiss on her knuckles. "I really like spending time with you Alice," I whispered.

She had blushed and looked away, then squeezed my hand as she replied, "I like hanging out with you too." She looked up at me from under her lashes and blushed again.

The moment was broken when Emmett's Jeep pulled into the drive behind us, flooding the car with light. Alice slowly pulled her hand away. "See you tomorrow?" she asked timidly.

I had smiled and answered, "Sure will!" before climbing out of the car and heading inside with Rosalie.

***

I was brought out of my reverie when my phone beeped again. It was Alice.

_Sounds like fun. Did you want to go out, or just hang out here? Mom and dad will be out so the house will be empty._

My dick twitched under the covers at her message and I had to take a deep breath before reading it again. _The house will be empty,_ I thought to myself. Was she hinting at something? I wasn't sure, so I sent what I thought was a tactful response back;

_I don't mind – whichever you're more comfortable with._

I let my mind wander back to Friday after school while I waited for her reply. Alice and Rosalie had their first cheerleading practice and the rest of us decided to go and watch. I sat in the temporary stands set up on the side of the running track with Edward and Emmett while Bella and Angela went over to talk to the girls.

A blonde and a brunette had walked past us and the brunette looked over her shoulder, then turned and giggled with her friend. They changed direction and headed in our direction, a move that wasn't missed by Alice and Rose.

"You're Jasper Hale, the new junior baseball captain," the blonde had said as they approached. I heard Emmett cough behind me – it sounded suspiciously like he said 'skank'.

"Yeah, that's me," I said slowly. "How did you know?"

"Oh, we make it our business to know who _all_ the captains are," the brunette answered. "I'm Jessica, this is Lauren. We were the captains of the cheer squad last year."

"There's really no doubt that we will be this year as well," the one named Lauren continued, as if we were supposed to be impressed.

I was saved from replying by Alice and Rose coming over. Rosalie climbed up to sit next to Emmett and Alice came and leaned on my shoulder. "Whatcha up to?" she asked.

"Just waiting to watch you ladies do your thang," Emmett replied with a grin.

Lauren and Jessica were shooting daggers at Alice and Rose and immediately switched their attention from me to Edward.

"Bad move," Alice whispered to me. "Bella's a little protective."

I looked up to see Bella marching across to where we were sitting. She had barged straight between the two girls and settled herself primly in Edward's lap, before turning and quite literally jamming her tongue down his throat.

"See you later Jasper," Jessica said, grabbing Lauren's arm and steering her towards the area where the rest of the squad had started stretching.

"We'd better go warm up," Rose said, climbing back down and standing on the track. "You guys be here later?"

We all said yes and wished her and Alice luck as they jogged off.

"Skanks," Emmett said more clearly, indicating where Jessica and Lauren were standing.

"Yep," Bella agreed with a nod. "They have a reputation, even at Forks High."

"They said they make it their business to know who all the captains are," I filled her in.

She snorted. "Yeah, I bet they do. Rumour has it they slept their way through the football and baseball teams last year – you boys had better watch out!"

We laughed and then turned our attention to the moves the girls were practicing with their coach. I couldn't take my eyes of Alice – she moved so gracefully and naturally. I watched as Lauren walked over to the small speaker system set up and inserted a CD. The girls spread out and walked through the moves one last time before the coach hit 'play'.

Bella had roared with laughter as Avril Lavigne's 'Girlfriend' rang out and Angela joined her when Lauren and Jessica missed their steps after shooting pointed glances my way.

After almost 40 minutes of practicing, the coach called all the girls together. A few minutes later, Lauren and Jessica ran off towards the change rooms in tears and the rest of the girls followed soon after, clapping Alice and Rosalie on the back.

"Wonder what that's all about?" Emmett mused.

"I guess we'll find out when they come back out," Edward replied.

Alice and Rose came and found us ten minutes later. "We're co-captains!" Alice announced with a big smile.

"So _that's_ what Dumb and Dumber were crying about!" Bella exclaimed.

***

My phone startled me again, and I quickly grabbed at it.

_How about we make a night of it here? I'll pick you up around 6?_

My hands shook as I messaged her back;

_Sounds like a plan. How about we grab some dinner on the way back to your place – my shout?_

Her reply didn't take long at all;

_It's a date! See you tonight. xAlice_

I bolted out of bed and ran downstairs, hoping Bella would be there and Rosalie wouldn't. Luck was on my side as I found Bella staring into her coffee at the kitchen table.

"Morning!" I greeted her as I poured my own cup before joining her at the table.

"Someone's in a good mood," she observed.

"Mmm hmm," I hummed around my coffee. "I'm going over to Alice's to watch a movie tonight while the rest of you are out." I couldn't stop the smile from spreading across my face.

Bella's face lit up as well. "That's awesome Jas! Did she invite you or did you start it?"

I hadn't really thought about that. "A bit of both, I guessed. She asked if I had plans, I said no, asked if she wanted to see a movie, she suggested a night in at her place, I said yes."

"Who said yes?" Rose asked from behind me, making me jump.

"Jas has a date," Bella said.

I shot her a dirty look before getting up and pulling out the Pop Tarts.

"Who with? And I'll have one of those," Rose said as I plugged in the toaster.

"Alice," I mumbled, turning away from her.

"Who?" I froze. I knew that tone in Rosalie's voice and it wasn't good.

Taking a deep breath, I turned around. "I have a date with Alice Cullen."

Rosalie's stare turned icy. "Don't fuck with her. She's my friend and I don't need you fucking that up. Besides, you hardly know her."

"That's the whole point of a date Rose! To get to know the other person! In the time I've spent with Alice, she's been fun, and sweet, and she's smart, and…fuck! I don't have to justify myself to you! You don't hear me complaining that you're dating Emmett!" I yelled.

"Don't you dare compare you and Alice to me and Emmett!" Rose screeched. "We've been spending a lot of time together and I'm pretty sure I know more about him than you know about Alice!"

I shook my head and turned away as the toaster popped.

"Don't you fucking turn away from me! You know Alice has some demons to deal with right?" Rose yelled.

"Fuck Rose! So much for keeping secrets!" Bella finally joined the fray.

"Fuck you, fuck your Pop Tarts…just fuck it!" Rose cursed as she stormed out again. I heard her door slam a few seconds later.

"Sorry Bella," I whispered. I heard her move and a second later she was rubbing circles on my back. "You should never have to see us fight."

She laughed softly. "Jas, I've never had a brother or sister to fight with, but I know you and Rosalie both have tempers – you just control yours better than she does. You have nothing to apologise for, you were just standing up for yourself."

"Pop Tart?" I offered, placing the one I'd toasted for Rose on a plate and turning with a small smile.

Her laugh was louder and happier that time. "I'll never say no to Pop Tarts!" she answered, taking it from me and sitting back at the table.

I joined her after grabbing the juice and two glasses. "Can I ask about Alice's demons?"

Bella looked thoughtful as she chewed. After swallowing, she replied, "I'm not going into detail, but there's a damn good reason that Alice doesn't drink. The Cullens moved here when I was a freshman from Alaska to give Alice a fresh start…but that's her story to tell. Don't push her though – when she trusts you, she'll tell you."

"Thanks Bella – for everything." I stood and rinsed my glass and coffee cup before loading them into the dishwasher.

I spent most of the day in my room doing homework and absently strumming my guitar. Bella knocked on my door just after four and I opened it to find her standing there with a small bouquet of pink and purple tulips.

"You shouldn't have!" I exclaimed with a grin.

"They're for Alice, you dope," she said, pushing past me into my room. "They're her favourites – and you can tell her you asked me."

"How much do I owe you?" I asked, reaching for my wallet.

"Pfft…don't worry about it," Bella said, waving her hand dismissively. "Just have a nice night, ok? I'm going out soon and Rose left about twenty minutes ago."

"Thanks again Bells – you're the best." I reached out and pulled her into a hug, being careful not to squash the flowers I was still holding.

"Welcome," she answered, stopping in the door. "See you tomorrow."

I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling until I heard Bella leave, then got up and had a quick shower. I dressed in jeans and a white button-down with my favourite old Docs. I looked at the clock and saw that it was only 5:15. I sat on the edge of my bed and was contemplating calling Alice when my phone rang, scaring the living shit out of me.

"Hello?"

"Jas, its Alice." I could hear her smile over the phone.

"Hey – is everything ok?" I hoped she wasn't calling to cancel.

"Everything's fine! I was just calling to tell you to bring you swimmers – I thought maybe we could try out the hot tub later? It's meant to be a clear night and the view is incredible…" she trailed off, sounding shy.

"That sounds awesome," I said, trying to keep the excitement out of my voice.

"Ok, cool. Um…did you want to come over early? I could come get you now?" she suggested.

I smiled – it sounded like she wanted to see me as much as I wanted to see her. "Sounds like a plan – see you soon?"

"On my way!"

We hung up and I checked myself in the mirror one last time before stuffing my swimmers and a towel into my back pack, making sure I took the flowers with me. While I waited for Alice, I quickly checked that all the doors and windows were locked and left a note for Charlie – it was a habit I'd developed with The Major and it just didn't feel right going out and not letting him know where I'd be.

I was just writing my name when I heard a car horn outside. I opened the front door, hiding the tulips behind my back, and Alice waved to me from the driver's seat. I waved back, checked I had my key and walked over, dropping my bag into the backseat before climbing into the front.

"Hey you!" she greeted me with a smile.

I pulled the tulips from behind my back and handed them to her. "Hey you yourself!"

She gasped and her smile grew wider. "Have you been talking to Bella?"

"Busted," I admitted, smiling sheepishly.

"Thank you Jasper – they're beautiful," she said, leaning over and kissing me softly on the cheek.

"And so are you," I said, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. The same electricity from the other night crackled through the car and I knew it would only take a small move for my lips to be on hers. _You don't want your first kiss to be in her car_, I thought to myself.

Pulling back just a little, I asked, "So what would you like for dinner?"

She smiled again and settled back into the driver's seat, passing me her flowers and putting the car into reverse. "I know a really great seafood place that does take out – is that ok with you?"

"Whatever you want – I'll eat just about anything," I replied.

The radio was on low and I recognised the opening of a familiar song. "Do you mind if I turn the music up?"

"Not at all," she said, checking both ways before turning across an intersection.

I pressed the 'volume up' button a couple of times and 'Girlfriend' filled the car. Alice burst out laughing. "You should have seen the looks on their faces when Rose and I were announced as co-captains," she said between chuckles.

She parked in front of a small shop a few minutes later and I followed her in. We made our selection and waited until it was ready, then headed back to Alice's house.

We ate out of the wrapping while sitting with our feet in the pool.

"Their seafood sauce is the best," Alice said around a mouthful of shrimp.

I nodded my head in agreement, not wanting to answer with my mouth full. "It's pretty good – I haven't had food like this in a long time."

We threw the rubbish in the outside bin on our way inside and Alice led me into the living room. "You want to pick the movie?"

I shook me head as I settled on the couch. "I like just about everything – you choose."

She stuck a disc in the DVD player and grabbed the remote before coming over and sitting next to me. I laughed as the menu for _Dodgeball_ came onto the screen. "I love this movie!"

"Me too," she giggled. "It's lame, but so good."

We watched in comfortable silence until just after the bit where Patches dies, then Alice leaned over and rested her head on my shoulder. I reacted on instinct, moving my arm from behind her and wrapping it around her shoulders, pulling her snug against my side.

The movie ended all too soon and I stretched as Alice turned the TV off. "Wanna test out the hot tub?" she asked, not quite meeting my eyes.

"That's the plan, right?" I teased.

She smiled. "Meet you back here in five? There's a bathroom next to the laundry you can use to change in."

We parted ways and I quickly changed into my swimmers, folded my clothes and put them back into my bag. I re-entered the living room just as Alice came down the stairs. She was wearing a navy blue bikini and I had to move my towel in front of myself until I regained my self-control.

"Ready?" she asked, taking my hand and leading me outside. The hot tub was set slightly away from the pool area in a little gazebo with a clear roof. "The roof retracts," Alice told me, pulling a cord to pull the two halves apart. Next she flicked a switch and small strands of fairy lights came on, wrapped around the poles of the gazebo. Last was the button that started the gentle bubbles.

Following Alice's lead, I dropped my towel on one of the chairs before heading over to the stairs. I offered her my hand to steady her and she stepped gracefully into the tub. I waited until she was in and seated and quickly followed, sinking down into the warmth on the opposite side.

"This is amazing," I said quietly, leaning my head back against the edge to look at the stars above me.

I sensed the movement in the water before I registered that Alice was sitting next to me.

"I really like you Jasper," she whispered.

I turned and smiled at her. "I really like you too, Alice."

She took a deep breath before meeting my eyes. "I need to tell you something."

Something told me this had to do with what Bella had said earlier in the day. I gently placed my arm around her shoulders before saying quietly, "You can tell me anything."

She nodded. "We only moved here a couple of years ago. Before that, we lived in Alaska. Just after New Year, the year Edward and I were freshmen, we went to a party at my best friend's house – her name was Hope. Her parents were out of town and her older sister wanted to have some friends over. Hope told her if she could invite some of us then she wouldn't tell, so her sister said yes. People were drinking but that didn't really bother us – we kept drinking our sodas and stayed away from the booze. Hope's older sister Julie was drinking and ended up in a big fight with her boyfriend. He left and Julie chased after him – Hope and I followed her. He drove away and Julie grabbed her keys to follow after him – we tried to stop her but she wouldn't listen. Hope ended up getting in the car with her. Less than two blocks from the house, Julie ran a stop sign and her car was hit by a truck. Both of them were killed instantly."

My heart broke for the beautiful girl sitting next to me with tears streaming down her face. I didn't know what to say so I just sat there and held her until her tears subsided.

"My family rallied around me and they were wonderful, but there were too many memories. After the funeral, I asked if we could move away. I know I was selfish. Edward and Emmett agreed to move – they gave up everything for me. Since then I've never wanted to try alcohol and I get worried every time dad has even one drink and gets behind the wheel. That's why I didn't drink at Charlie's the other night." She looked up at me. "I just wanted you to know."

"And I'm glad that you trust me enough to tell me," I whispered, tracing the side of her face with my thumb.

"I don't want there to be any secrets between us," she murmured, moving closer and placing her hand on my chest.

"No secrets," I replied, leaning down and finally covering her lips with my own.

The kiss was everything I'd dreamed it would be and more. Our lips moved together like they had been doing it for eternity and it felt nothing less than perfect. I slid my hand around the back of her neck and pulled her closer, breaking the kiss after a moment to catch my breath.

"Wow," she breathed, not moving away.

"Wow is right," I replied.

Alice stretched up this time and kissed me, and I almost jumped out of my skin when her tongue ran across my bottom lip. I couldn't contain the small moan that slipped from my mouth, and that was all the opportunity she needed to slide her tongue in and against my own. We continued kissing for a few minutes until Alice pulled away.

"I've wanted to do that since the first time I saw you," she admitted, biting her bottom lip and looking up at me through her lashes.

"You're not the only one," I said, sliding the arm that was still around her shoulders down her back.

I was startled when she rose elegantly from the water and straddled my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck and pulling my face to hers once more. I moved both of my hands to rest on her small waist and kissed her back, taking control of the kiss and sliding my tongue against her lip.

"Oh Jasper," she moaned, moving closer to me.

I suddenly realised how close our bodies were. One more move like that and she would be right up against my extremely hard dick. The feel of Alice's lips on my neck made me realise that I didn't care – I just wanted her to keep doing whatever the hell it was she was doing.

After another long, passionate kiss I started dropping kisses up and down her neck, stopping to bite gently on her earlobe from time to time. "Please don't stop," she whispered.

And then it happened. She ground against my erection – hard.

"Oh fuck," I cried out, unable to stop myself. I dropped my hands from her waist and hung my head.

"Jas? What's wrong?" Alice asked, tipping my head up to look at her.

"I'm so sorry Alice," I mumbled. "I just can't control my body when I'm around you."

Her hands slipped from my shoulders and disappeared under the water, searching for my own. She placed my hands firmly back on her waist. "I'm not complaining," she said, grinding against me again.

We spent the next hour touching and kissing and dry humping in the hot tub. "Jas? Will you come inside with me?" Alice asked.

My eyes popped open. This was moving a lot faster than I was planning on.

Alice giggled at my expression. "Not that, horn-boy!" she said, slapping my chest playfully. "I just want to cuddle up with you."

We headed back inside and I took a quick shower in the bathroom next to the room I'd stayed in the previous weekend. I pulled on my shirt and jeans but left my Docs off, and carried them down to the living room. No Alice. I sat and waited.

"Jasper?" she called from the top of the stairs. "Can you come up here?"

_Fuck_, I thought as I adjusted my jeans. _Hard again._

I climbed the stairs and followed Alice to her room. She had changed into a pair of sweats and a tank top and she looked even more beautiful than before. She closed the door behind me and sat on the edge of her bed. "Come here," she said, patting the mattress next to her.

I sat and automatically wrapped my arm around her waist.

"Did I move too fast before?" she asked.

I looked down at her and smiled. "Not at all – I just haven't had a girl want to be with me like that in a long time…well, ever really."

She blushed. "Like I said, I really like you. And I'm tired of being good because I'm Bella and Rosalie's friend. I want to be with you." She flopped back on the bed, trapping my arm under her.

I did the only thing I could think to do – I leaned over her, bracing my other arm on the bed, and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around me and pulled me fully on top of her.

_This girl is going to kill me – or her brother will do it for her,_ I thought.

"Alice," I blurted. "What about your family?"

She wriggled out from under me and slid up the bed so she was resting on her pillows. "They won't be home for hours," she said, looking at the clock. It was just after eight. "Now come here."

"I can't say no to you," I whispered as I climbed up the bed, lowering my body over her much smaller one and crashing my lips to hers.

The moan she released urged me on and I let my hand trail lightly down her side, finally coming to rest on her hip. She rocked her body up into mine and I thought I would spontaneously combust.

"God, you feel so fucking good," I mumbled as I started placing kisses down her neck again. My words must have spurred her on because her tiny hips rocked into mine again as her hands came to the buttons on my shirt.

"I want to touch you," she whispered, undoing the first couple of buttons.

Less than a minute later my shirt was laying in a crumpled heap on the floor and Alice was straddling me again, placing kisses in random patterns over my chest. My hands tangled in her hair and I gave myself over to the feelings. I cried out as she gently sucked on my nipple.

"Did I hurt you?" she asked, looking up at me.

I shook my head. "Just a bit surprised."

"Did you like it?"

I smiled and nodded. "Maybe a bit."

She crawled back up my body and rolled slightly to the side, resting her head on my chest. "Jasper, I don't have any experience with things like this," she said quietly.

I ran my fingertips up and down her back to soothe her. "Alice, I don't either. Rose and I were the only kids our age on the base. I had my first kiss at thirteen at summer camp and there's been nothing since then."

She rolled back on top of my body. "Well, we'd better make up for lost time then," she teased as she kissed me again. I let my hands wander down to her butt and pulled her against me, both of us moaning at the friction.

I slowly slid one hand up the back of her top, relishing in the feeling of her soft skin under my fingers. I slid my hand higher up and realised she wasn't wearing a bra and moaned.

"Take it off," she whispered against my lips.

Not thinking, I slid both of my hands to the base of her top and started to work the fabric up. It was about to clear the top of her ribs when my conscience caught up with me.

"Alice, I want to…I want _you_…but I want to take this a bit slower, ok?"

Climbing off my body, Alice sat cross-legged on the bed next to me. She placed her hands in her lap and fiddled with her fingers for a minute. In the end I sat up and covered her hands with my own.

"Alice, look at me," I said gently. She raised her eyes to mine. "I care about you and I want to be with you – I just don't want to rush things. I want us to take our time, that's all."

She smiled. "I care about you too, and I want to take it slow, I just wanted to make you happy."

I moved over and wrapped her in my arms. "Just being with you makes me happy."

She snuggled in closer. "Wanna watch another movie?"

"Sounds perfect," I answered.

We curled up on the couch in the living room and watched _Office Space_ together. When it finished, Alice sat up and stretched. "I guess I should get you home, huh?" she said with a smile over her shoulder.

I checked the time and it was 11:30. "Yeah," I said, grabbing her waist and pulling her against me for one last cuddle.

By the time we eventually pulled into my driveway it was almost midnight. Alice turned off the engine and released her seatbelt. I took off mine and turned to her. "I had such a good night," I said, looking into her eyes.

"Me too," she whispered, leaning over and kissing me softly. Bright lights entered the car from behind. "Fucking Emmett!" she exclaimed.

"Ignore him," I said, cupping her face in my hand and pulling her in for another kiss. The lights shut off and the next thing I knew my door was open and I was being pulled out by my shirt.

"Emmett! Stop it!" Rose shrieked, putting herself between me and Emmett.

"That's my little sister!" Emmett roared.

"And Rose is my sister, but you don't see me acting like a Neanderthal!" I shot back.

None of us had noticed Edward's Volvo parking on the street or Bella flying up the driveway. "Emmett McCarty Cullen you let him go right now!" she demanded.

Emmett released my shirt and I fell back against the car.

"What in the blue fuck is going on here?" Bella hissed through clenched teeth.

Alice stepped in front of me and I wrapped my arms around her. "I was dropping Jasper off and I was kissing him goodnight in the car when this meathead – " she indicated Emmett – "pulled in behind us and pulled Jasper out of the car."

"Right," Bella said, looking from my arms around Alice's waist to Rosalie's hand intertwined with Emmett's. "You guys are all like family to me, so I'm going to say this once, and once only. Emmett and Rose – you guys look like you've got your shit sorted, and so do Jasper and Alice. That means, for the first time ever, we've all got someone. But let me make this clear: if anyone does anything to hurt anyone else, be it their boyfriend, girlfriend or someone else, then you'll have me to deal with because no-one, and I mean _no-one_, fucks with my family. Am. I. Clear?"

We all answered yes. I'd never seen Bella so angry and it was a scary sight.

"Right then. Emmett, Rose, you guys can go around back and say goodnight. Jasper, Alice, you guys head inside. Edward and I will wait here and then the Cullens will _all_ be leaving," Bella ordered.

We all said our goodbyes and then it was just the three of us. "Bed," Bella said. "We'll talk about this in the morning."

I crawled into bed without worrying about cleaning my teeth and dreamt of blue bikinis and hot tubs.


	7. Bohemian Rhapsody

**A/N:** I don't own Twilight – it belongs to the genius that is Stephenie Meyer. I do own these incarnations of her characters that play games in my mind.

Big love to those of you who are reviewing! I know I'm not the best at responding but please know they mean a lot to me! And I know this chapter is late – sorry!

Also, please check out the link on my profile to the All Human Twilight Awards – "The Beginning of Bella and Edward" was nominated in the category of "Best Completed All Human Story".

A quick recommendation for you as well – check out "Alphabet Weekends" by the-glory-days – all kinds of awesome!

Happy reading!

Bohemian Rhapsody

I woke on Sunday morning to the smell of coffee wafting up the stairs. There was something else too – kind of a cross between fresh toast and pancakes. I sat up and stretched then headed downstairs.

Bella was standing at the counter making waffles while the coffee dripped into the pot. Rose was sitting at the table, drawing patterns on the surface with her index finger.

"Good morning?" I came out like a question, rather than a greeting.

Bella shot me a warm smile over her shoulder. "Morning Jas. Waffles are my way of saying I'm sorry," she explained.

"And I'm sorry about the way Emmett reacted," Rose interjected.

"It's ok Rose," I said, bending over and hugging her in her chair. "I wasn't too keen on the idea of you and Emmett, but if you're happy and he doesn't hurt you then it's ok with me. Think you can put a good word in with him for me?"

She laughed. "I told him last night that you come first, and if he didn't like it then we were over before we really started."

Bella brought the waffles over to the table then effectively ending the conversation. I poured three mugs of coffee and set them on the table, then scoffed when Rosalie filled hers with milk and sugar.

We got stuck into breakfast and ended up laughing about the night before. We all pitched in with the cleaning up then I dragged myself upstairs for a shower. I spent the rest of the day finishing off some homework, texting Alice, playing my guitar and watching reruns of _Heroes_ with Bella and Rosalie, eventually leaving the room when their swooning over Sylar got to be too much for me.

Charlie arrived home with Italian take out right on six and suggested we have a family dinner in the dining room.

After ten minutes of uncomfortable silence, Charlie put his fork down and cleared his throat. "So," he began.

_It's The Major all over again,_ I thought.

"So," Charlie said again. "Anyone want to tell me what the ruckus on the front lawn was about last night?"

I dropped my head and looked at my plate as my face started burning. My head snapped back up again when Rosalie answered.

"Actually, that's probably more my fault that anyone else's."

"Care to share?" Charlie asked.

Bella spoke up this time. "Dad, Jasper and Alice have started going out, and Rose and Emmett have been out a few times too. Last night, we all arrived home around the same time and Emmett pretty much wanted to rip Jasper's head off for kissing his sister."

Rosalie caught my eye across the table just as Charlie burst out laughing. "The three of you are dating the three Cullen kids?" he howled. "It's a good thing that the Doc and Mrs Cullen are so happily married, or I'd be worried we were going to turn in the Brady Bunch!"

That comment got the rest of us going. By the time the laughter finally died down my stomach hurt.

"I guess we need to go over a few ground rules then," Charlie said after a sip of his beer. "I know you kids are responsible, and I trust you, so the big one here is honesty. I trust you to go out with Edward and Emmett and Alice after school, and spend time with them on weekends, but if you start failing classes then your curfew will be restricted. You can be out, or have friends over here, until ten on school nights, and until midnight on weekends."

We all nodded – I had a feeling Bella had heard this a few times now. Charlie turned his attention to me and Rose for the next part. "If things turn out to be serious with Emmett and Alice, then I don't mind them sleeping over here now and again. I'll need to discuss it with Doctor and Mrs Cullen first and there will be more rules if and when that happens, ok?" We both nodded.

"I think that'll just about do it then," he said, his face relaxing into a smile. "How about we go shopping for cars next weekend?"

I smiled for the first time in about half an hour. "That would be great Charlie, thanks. Emmett mentioned a couple of places that sell older cars – I think Rose knows where they are?"

She nodded. "I'll give you the names – I've had a bit of a look and I think I've narrowed it down. And one of the places has an awesome old Mustang that I think Jasper will fall in love with!" she teased me.

Clearing away the empty containers and dirty plates later, Rose whispered to me, "Can you imagine The Major ever letting us have a boyfriend or girlfriend sleep over?"

I shook my head with a grin. "I'm thinking I like Charlie's rules."

I helped Bella sort out our uniforms after dinner while Rose worked on an assignment at the kitchen table. Bella ironed while I folded socks and other miscellaneous bits and pieces that had escaped her attention the day before.

A little after ten Charlie poked his head in the door. "I'm heading to bed – don't stay up too late."

"Night," we all chorused.

Half an hour later our clothes were all sorted and Rosalie stretched, her shoulders popping softly.

"I'm exhausted," she announced. "See you guys in the morning."

Bella and I followed soon after, whispering good night to each other so as not to wake Charlie or Rose.

***

The following few days were more of what was fast becoming the usual stuff. Alice came over for homework on Monday and Wednesday, I went to baseball practice on Tuesday, she went to cheerleading practice on Friday.

Emmett decided on Friday during lunch that a triple date to Port Angeles was in order for the night. "Dinner and movie," he declared.

"Can we do something other than a movie?" Bella asked.

"Indoor rock climbing?" Edward teased her.

"How about ice skating?" Alice suggested. "The rink in Port Angeles is pretty good."

So it was settled. Rose and I went home with Bella in the truck, and Edward, Emmett and Alice agreed to meet us at home at five. They arrived in Alice's car, Edward's long legs squashed into the back.

"Emmett insisted that he and Rose should ride with us," Alice whispered to me after kissing me hello.

"Big guy really doesn't trust me, huh?" I joked.

We left shortly after, following Edward and Bella in her truck. I rode shotgun with Emmett crammed into the seat behind me, and Rosalie behind Alice.

"Jas, why don't you put some music on?" Alice suggested, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "There's some CDs in the glove compartment."

I fished around and pulled out a CD labelled, 'Queen'. I put it in and smiled when 'Bohemian Rhapsody' came through the speakers.

"Good choice," Emmett crowed from the back seat before starting to sing along, doing an incredibly off-key impersonation of Freddie Mercury.

We spent the rest of the drive singing along. Emmett did an especially horrible version of 'Fat Bottomed Girls' that I found hilarious. It was made all the more funny when Alice asked him about his first girlfriend, who as it turned out, _was _a 'fat bottomed girl'.

We ate dinner at a pretty good Chinese restaurant before heading off to the ice skating rink. I paid for Alice's entry and skate hire and smirked when I saw Emmett trying to do the same for Rose.

"You don't have to pay for me Emmett, I can pay my own way," she hissed.

"Good luck with that," I mumbled to him as we walked past.

The ice skating rink was lit by disco lights, complete with a huge mirror ball hanging from the ceiling. We spent the next two hours skating around and having fun. I spent just as much time racing Edward and Emmett as I did skating slowly around, holding Alice's hand.

"Last song of the night, folks," the DJ announced.

"Ooh, I love this song!" Alice squealed as 'More Than I Deserve' by Christian Kane came over the speakers.

"You know Christian Kane?" I asked, gobsmacked. I was blown away that Alice knew who he was.

"He was in Angel!" she squealed.

"Oh, that," I replied. "You know he's got more than this song, right?"

"No, but that doesn't matter!" she said. "This should be our song!"

I pulled her tiny body close to mine and started skating along, just enjoying having her close.

The song ended and the disco lights went out as the normal lights came back on. The six of us skated off the ice and quickly changed back into our normal shoes before piling back into the cars for the drive home.

We arrived back in Forks at 10:45 and my phone rang as we crossed the city limits.

"What's up?" I asked.

"How'd you know it was me?" Bella asked.

"There's this thing called caller ID," I teased.

"Edward wants to know if we want to go back to the Cullen's for a while – I can bring you and Rose home with me after."

"Hang on." I turned to look at Rosalie in the back. "Edward wants to know if we want to go to the Cullen's for a while."

She nodded and I relayed that to Bella. We pulled into the Cullen's driveway and my stomach dropped when I realised their parents were home.

"Time to meet the parentals," Emmett kidded from behind me. "Don't worry – they don't bite."

He was right. Carlisle and Esme, as they insisted on being called, were friendly and as relaxed about us hanging out there as Charlie was about Emmett, Edward and Alice hanging out at our place.

After a few minutes, Alice led me up to her room and pounced on me the second the door was closed.

"I've missed you," she whispered against my neck as her legs wrapped around my waist.

I stumbled across the room in my lust-filled haze and almost threw her on the bed before collapsing on top of her.

"Missed you too," I mumbled as her mouth came crashing against mine.

Our kisses were frantic, but not as frantic as our hands. Alice wasted no time slipping her hands under the hem of my t-shirt and working it up and then off my body.

"Did you lock the door?" I panted as she started licking her way down my body again.

She wriggled out from under me and darted across the room, checking the door was locked before launching herself at me again, straddling me on her bed. My hands planted themselves firmly on her ass, squeezing as she started grinding herself against my erection.

"Fuck, you're so hard," she gasped.

"You seem to have that effect on me," I said back, sliding one hand up to caress the skin on her lower back.

Alice rocked back a bit and quickly slipped her shirt off. My eyes almost fell out of my head and my jaw dropped as she leaned in against me again. She was wearing a black bra that looked like it was made from something soft, like satin or silk, and she was perfect.

"Touch me Jasper," she whispered, taking my left hand in her right one and placing it over her breast.

"Oh fuck," I moaned, squeezing her gently and growing harder still at the tiny mewling sound that came from her.

I was so wrapped up in Alice's body that I didn't even realise she had unzipped my jeans until she took my dick in her hand and started stroking.

"Fuck…God…oh…so fucking good," I spluttered, burying my face against her neck to muffle my sounds.

"Should I keep going?" she whispered.

"Oh fuck yes," I answered, subconsciously thrusting up into her hand.

She kept stroking me, smooth strokes up and down, gradually increasing her pressure and speed. I slipped my hand up under her bra and swept my thumb across her nipple, making her whole body shudder. Still stroking, she slipped her free hand behind her and deftly unclasped her bra. She released me for a split second to shrug out of it then moved to lay beside me, taking me into her hand once more.

I couldn't help my own hands from moving up her body, taking both of her perfect breasts in my hands. Alice's head dropped back and she moaned softly as I started massaging the flesh I was holding. Her movements were getting faster and faster, and I thought it only right to tell her I was close.

"Alice," I mumbled against her neck, "I'm not going to last much longer."

"Don't hold back," she whispered back.

"It's gonna be messy," I warned her. "You might want some tissues."

She pulled back and smirked at me before pulling a couple of tissues from the pocket of her jeans. "Never leave home without them – you never know when they'll come in handy," she teased.

I reluctantly let go of one breast and tangled my fingers in her hair, pulling her to me. Our tongues danced against each other and she kept working her hand up and down my erection.

"Oh fuck," I moaned against her mouth. "Please don't stop!"

She pulled her face back from mine and dropped her gaze to where her hand was making me feel so damn good. "Come for me Jasper," she whispered.

That was it. I dropped my mouth to her chest and sucked her nipple into my mouth to cover my moans as I came all over her hand. I slowly withdrew my mouth and looked up at her bashfully. "Sorry about that," I whispered.

Alice daintily cleaned most of the mess off her hand before kissing me hard. "You have nothing to be sorry about," she said, pulling on her t-shirt without her bra. "I'm going to wash my hands, then when I get back, I want your mouth exactly where it just was."

My mouth hung open as she walked out the door. I quickly tucked myself back into my boxers and zipped my jeans up, then kicked off my shoes and slid up her bed. She walked back in a few minutes later, and after closing and locking the door she removed her shirt again and lay beside me.

I rolled over and kissed her sweetly, trying to show her how much I appreciated what she had just done for me.

"Jas," she whispered, pulling away slightly.

"Mmm?" I hummed, skimming my nose along her jaw.

"Where did I say I wanted your mouth?"

I froze for a split second before looking up at her with a smirk. She raised one perfect eyebrow at me and smirked back. _I'm a goner,_ I thought to myself. _All she has to do is look at me and I'll do anything she asks._

I wriggled down a little and took her left nipple into my mouth again. Alice's hips rose off the bed as I started sweeping my tongue back and forth, loving the way it pebbled up at my touch. I removed my mouth and blew gently across the raised peak, making her moan my name.

"I thought you said you didn't have a whole lot of experience?" she gasped.

"Rose leaves her _Cosmo_ laying around – can't blame a guy for trying to pick up a few tips," I replied, leaning over and taking the other nipple into my mouth.

I kept teasing, bringing my hand up to play with her other breast. I jumped a little when Alice covered my hand with hers and trailed it down her stomach, bringing it to rest on the waistband of her jeans.

"Your call," she whispered as I looked up at her.

I moved my lips to her neck while I undid the button on her pants and slid the zipper down. My fingers brushed against something silky and I made a guess that her underwear was made of the same stuff as her bra. Trying hard to think back to Rosalie's magazines, I slid my hand into Alice's jeans and started moving my fingers against her, over the top of her underwear.

The noises and gasps gave me an inkling that I was doing the right thing, so as I moved my lips back down her chest I slid my fingers under the waistband of her underwear and moaned softly as my finger slipped against her wet centre.

Alice's moans of encouragement gave me enough confidence to slide my middle finger down a little but further, then it easily slipped inside her and I was in heaven. Her hands wove themselves into my hair and tugged gently.

"Oh fuck yes…Jasper…more…please," she panted.

I slowly started sliding my finger in and out, loving the way her tiny body writhed under me on the bed.

"More…please!" she begged again.

I gently added a second finger and Alice grabbed a pillow from behind her head, covering her mouth with it. I lifted my head from her breast to look at her as she moved the pillow away again, and it was the most amazing and beautiful thing I'd ever seen. Her face was flushed, as was her chest, her eyes were bright and her lips were swollen from our kissing.

"Harder," she whispered, rocking her hips into my hand.

"I don't want to hurt you," I whispered back.

"You won't. I want to come for you."

I started moving my fingers fast, curling them up inside her like I'd read about. I found a rougher patch and Alice quite literally squealed when I rubbed it.

"Oh fuck…there…don't fucking stop…so close…" Her head moved from one side to the other as her body arched off the bed and she slid a hand to grip my bicep. "More…oh fuck….fuck yes!" She lifted her head and latched her mouth onto my neck, not sucking but smothering her cries.

I kept going for a minute longer until Alice slid her hand down to my wrist. "Slower now," she whispered in my ear.

I moved my fingers more and more slowly until her hand stilled my movements completely. I removed my fingers from her body and wiped them on the tissue she offered. I pulled her into my arms and cradled her against my chest.

"Wow," we both breathed at the same time, making us both laugh.

"Jas?" she asked.

"Mmm hmm?" I replied, trailing my fingers up and down her back.

She giggled. "Can you go wash your hand? I mean, I love what you're doing, but it kind of smells…"

"I'm sorry!" I said. "I didn't really think of that!"

I got up and pulled my shirt back on, making sure Alice was decent before I opened the door. I quickly washed my hands in the bathroom then headed back to her room. She was sitting cross-legged on the end of her bed, her hair a mess. I sat beside her and tried to smooth it out a little.

"You don't need to do that," she chuckled.

"I'd like to get out of here without Emmett killing me," I joked back.

"He's just protective 'cause I'm his little sister, but he's just a big teddy bear," she said with another adorable giggle. "And your hair's not much better!"

I tried to flatten it but had no success. "It never really sits flat anyway."

"Didn't your dad have a problem with you having it that length?" she asked.

"It's not _that_ long!" I said with a smile. "Dad knew I was never going to be a military boy, so he gave up on me having short hair when I was about ten. I don't let it get much longer than this though," I finished, running my hand through it again.

Our conversation was interrupted by a gentle knock. "You guys decent?" Edward called softly.

"You can come in," Alice replied.

Edward's head appeared around the door. "It's almost midnight – you guys need to head off soon," he said. "Bella will meet you downstairs in a few minutes."

"Thanks," I answered as the door closed again. I turned to Alice and tilted her face up to mine. "Guess it's time to say goodnight."

"But not goodbye?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" I was confused, to say the least.

"Well, I've never done…what we did tonight before, and I've heard all the stories about how once a guy gets stuff like that he leaves and…"

I cut her off with a kiss. "I'm not leaving you Alice. If anything, I want to try that with you again…" kiss, "and again…" another kiss, "and again."

She smiled up at me. "Is that _all_ you want to try?"

I laughed and tucked her hair behind her ear. "For now…who knows though?" I teased.

We walked downstairs a few minutes later to find Bella and Edward already in the foyer. "Rose should be down in a sec," Bella said as we approached them.

Sure enough, Emmett and Rosalie came down about a minute after we did. We all said goodnight then Bella, Rose and I climbed into Bella's truck to head home.

"Have a nice night?" Bella asked with a smirk. I wasn't sure who it was directed at so I didn't say anything.

"It was nice," Rose replied. I could tell, even from the back seat, that she was blushing.

"Nice, huh?" I teased.

She turned around and glared at me. "Like you weren't playing grab-ass with Alice in her room!"

"And like you weren't fooling around with Emmett!" Bella said with a laugh. "Face it guys – we all had a good night, no matter how we want to define 'good'. And I certainly don't feel like sharing!"

I could see Rosalie fighting a smile and she won the battle…for a whole five seconds. We spent the rest of the ride laughing and joking about stupid stuff, like Rose using the term 'grab-ass' and Bella's choice of 'fooling around'.

We snuck in at ten after midnight, trying not to wake Charlie. His snores resonated down the stairs so we figured we were safe.

I quickly cleaned my teeth and climbed into bed, a shit-eating grin on my face as I thought back over my night with Alice. I grabbed my phone and sent her a message before sleep;

_Had a great time tonight, can't wait to see you again. Sleep tight! xJas_

After a few minutes with no reply, I curled up on my side and drifted off to sleep, dreaming of breasts, hand jobs and Alice's face as she came in my arms.


	8. Undiscovered

**A/N:** I don't own Twilight – it belongs to the genius that is Stephenie Meyer. I do own these incarnations of her characters that play games in my mind.

Wow – an update on a Monday – I must be ill! Or it could be that now I've done the unthinkable and starting posting a second story that I realise I need to get my butt into gear! If you haven't already, please check out "Armed and Dangerous" and let me know what you think!

And a belated thanks (again!) to Yankee Snoopy for the song idea for the last chapter. This one's all mine.

Happy reading!

Undiscovered

The next couple of weeks flew by. I spent almost all of my free time with Alice, and we discovered we had a lot in common. She shared my love of America's war history and after ransacking her CD collection, I found out she had some really cool stuff stashed away.

I was sitting at the kitchen table by myself late Thursday afternoon when Bella came home from swimming practice. "No Alice?" she teased as she opened the fridge and pulled out the steaks that had been marinading since the night before.

"Nope," I answered with a smile. "She's helping Esme with something. Rose is off looking at cars again with Emmett – hopefully we'll both get something soon!"

We chatted idly about school while Bella started making salad for dinner, and I got up and set the table just as Charlie came in. Rosalie followed soon after and we sat down to eat just before seven.

"This is good steak Bells," Charlie commented.

"Thanks dad – I only cooked it. The marinade is one of Jasper's concoctions," she replied.

"Not quite," I corrected her. "It's something dad came up with by accident one night and it's been a favourite since."

We ate in silence for a few minutes until Rose raised the subject of cars again.

"Charlie, I think I've decided on a car, and I may have found one for Jasper as well," she began.

"Really?" Where from?" Charlie asked.

"A place called Frank's – about halfway out to the Indian reservation. Old guy and his son run it, selling old cars and doing basic mechanical work," Rosalie filled us in.

Charlie nodded. "I know the place – old Frank has been around forever."

"So I've found an old Camaro," Rose rushed on. "It runs and the body is in fairly good condition, the interior is pretty clean, it just needs a polish and some tuning and it'll be sweet."

"How much?" Charlie asked.

"That's the cool thing – it's within my price range, but Frank said he's looking for some after-school help – his son is falling behind at school and Frank can't run the place on his own. He said if I can help him out one afternoon a week after school, just some cleaning up and polishing that kind of thing, and sometimes on Saturdays, then I can use the workshop there to fix it up until its right, then he'll start paying me." Rosalie looked like all of her Christmases had come at once.

I could see Charlie thinking it over. "Sounds ok to me, but I'd like to have a look at this car before you say yes."

Rose nodded and then turned to me. "He's got a 1969 Mustang out there as well Jas. It's in pretty good condition, just a couple of dings and scratches. The inside is immaculate and it runs, just not well. I mentioned to him that my brother was looking for a car as well, he said the same thing goes if you're interested – one day a week after school and the odd Saturday, and you can use the workshop."

I had a feeling that my face mirrored the excited grin that Rose was wearing. "You serious?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yep. I told him I'd talk to you and Charlie tonight and work out when we could go and have a look."

"I'll be out of town for the weekend," Charlie told us, "but I can go with you after school tomorrow if you're keen?"

We agreed that Charlie would pick us up at 4:30 when Rosalie finished cheerleading practice to go out and see Frank. "You kids go do whatever it is you do – I'll clean up," Charlie offered.

The three of us met up in Bella's room and did some homework together, Bella at her desk, Rosalie lying on the bed, and I was sprawled on the floor.

I excused myself at 9:30 and called Alice, letting her know that I was going to look at cars after school but I'd see her later the next evening. We talked for a while and somehow I ended up promising to spend Saturday in Port Angeles shopping. We said goodnight just as Rose knocked on my door.

"Hey," she said, sitting in my desk chair.

"Hey yourself. What's doing?"

"I just wanted to tell you a bit more about this Mustang," she answered.

"You've got my undivided attention," I replied, pulling my Mustang encyclopaedia off the shelf.

Rose grinned at me. "Ready? It's a 1969 Boss 302."

The book slid off my lap and onto the floor. "Say what?"

She nodded. "The interior has been replaced at some point so it's not all-original, Frank said the guy he got it from had to replace both doors after it was in accident, but it looks pretty good."

I nodded dumbly. "What colour is it?"

"Red, with the black stripe. It's perfect. What do you think about working out there?" she asked.

I shrugged. "If I have a car that runs and will get me there, I'm not going to complain!"

Rose left a few minutes later and I fell asleep fairly quickly. My dreams were plagued with broken down cars and when I woke the next morning I was having second thoughts.

I met Charlie in the kitchen when I went down for breakfast, which I thought was strange because he was usually leaving when I got up.

"You're up early," he greeted me. "Coffee?"

"Yes please." I looked at the clock on the wall and saw it was only six thirty. "Gee, I _am_ up early."

"Couldn't sleep?" Charlie asked, concerned.

"Just had some weird dreams. I've been looking for a Mustang for ages and I'm just worried that I'm going to be disappointed."

He chuckled. "You can always say no, Jasper. But I think working for Frank would be good – you'll be around cars, which is something you really like, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah – even if I don't buy this car I think I'll ask about a job."

"I have to run, but I'll pick you and Rosalie up from the front of the school at four thirty, ok?" he said as he rinsed his mug and put it in the dishwasher.

"Yep. See you then."

Since I had at least half an hour to kill before the girls would be up I decided to make pancakes for breakfast. I pulled all the ingredients out and cut some blueberries up into smaller pieces before mixing it all together.

To my surprise, Bella and Rose both shuffled in just after seven and went straight for the coffee. We ate in silence, both of them looking like they hadn't slept a wink. I cleared my own dishes once I was done eating and headed upstairs to shower.

The ride to school was just a quiet and it wasn't until I got to lunch that day that I found out what was wrong. Emmett and Edward were sitting opposite Rosalie and Bella, trying to get the girls to talk to them. I sat next to Edward and leaned over to Alice. "What's going on?" I whispered.

She leaned in as well. "Edward and Emmett are going camping with dad this weekend and they told the girls last night. Needless to say, it didn't go down too well."

"Oh." Then it hit me – the most brilliant idea ever. "Well, maybe you should take Bella and Rose shopping in Port Angeles tomorrow instead of me then?"

Alice's face lit up and dropped, all in less than two seconds. "That's a really sweet idea, but won't you be lonely?"

"I'll be fine – how about I have some sort of wonderful dinner ready when you ladies come home?"

Alice leaned further over the table and dropped a chaste kiss on my lips and pulled away before any of the teachers could see. "You're wonderful," she giggled, turning and getting the girls' attention.

Emmett leaned around Edward and clapped me on the back. "Whatever you and the pixie are up to, you're a life saver," he said.

The rest of the day ran smoothly and I spent some time in the library while I waited for Rose to finish at cheerleading practice. I met her near the administration building at 4:25 and we raced down the drive to the front of the school, arriving just as Charlie pulled up in the cruiser.

With no hesitation, Rosalie climbed into the front seat. We drove the fifteen minutes out to Frank's and I spotted the Mustang as soon as we pulled in – it looked perfect.

Half an hour, most of our savings and two new jobs later, Rose and I followed Charlie home – Rosalie in her new old blue Camaro, and me in my new old red Mustang.

The Camaro was pretty loud, Rose wasn't kidding when she said it needed some tuning, and Bella came running out the front door as we approached. She insisted we both take her for a drive before dinner, then Rose set the table and I made a salad while Bella cooked the fish.

We ate with Charlie and he let us know that he would be heading off early the next morning and would be home in time for dinner on Sunday. "Now, I don't mind if the Cullens stay over on the weekend, just make sure you clear it with Doctor and Mrs Cullen first."

Bella and Rosalie both scowled at their plates.

"Edward and Emmett are going camping with Doctor Cullen for the weekend," I told Charlie. I was about to tell him about the girls' plans but was interrupted by the phone ringing. Charlie rose from the table and left the room to get it.

Moments later he reappeared, talking on the cordless phone from the living room. "That sounds like a great idea Edward – hang on and I'll put him on," Charlie said, passing me the phone. Bella was glaring daggers at me.

"Hey," I said, taking the phone from Charlie.

"Hey Jas. Look, dad was thinking, rather than you being at home all weekend on your own with the girls, that you should come camping with us…only if you want to, of course," Edward said.

It took me a whole of three seconds to reply. "That sounds great – what do I need to bring?"

Edward gave me a list of gear that I'd need and told me that Carlisle had all the food organised. "We'll pick you up at seven tomorrow morning," he finished.

"Sounds great – did you want to speak to Bella?" I asked.

Edward laughed. "I'd better – I'll probably only get into more trouble though!"

I handed the phone over and Bella stormed from the room, already giving Edward a mouthful for 'deserting her to go frolicking in the woods'.

I filled Rosalie in on my new plans while we cleared the table and packed the dishwasher. When we were done I headed up to my room and started packing some clothes for the weekend. I was about halfway done when my phone rang, playing 'Undiscovered' by James Morrison – Alice's ring tone.

"Hey beautiful!" I said, picking it up.

"Don't you 'hey beautiful' me, Jasper Hale!" she yelled back. "What's the big idea, deserting me to go play caveman with my father and brothers for the weekend?"

I swallowed the chuckle that was building in my throat. "Aren't you glad I'm getting along with them?"

I heard her draw breath and waited for the next onslaught but was met with a surprising silence. "I guess," Alice replied eventually. "I was looking forward to spending some time with you though."

"We'll be home on Sunday afternoon – we can go somewhere for dinner Sunday night if you want? Your choice?" I tried to placate her.

She agreed and told me in no uncertain terms that I had to make it up to her somehow. We talked for a while longer and I felt rotten when I had to go to finish packing and get some sleep.

My alarm went off at 6:15 the next morning and I got up, showered, made my bed and ate a quick breakfast. Charlie was already gone when Carlisle arrived with Edward and Emmett at 7.

"You guys want to risk waking the girls to say goodbye?" I joked.

Emmett groaned and Edward shook his head. "I'd like to keep my balls intact, thank you very much."

We loaded up Emmett's Jeep and Carlisle took the wheel. We drove for almost three hours before he pulled off the road on to what can only be described as a track. Ten minutes later the track disappeared and we did some serious off-road driving before pulling into a clearing, bordered on two sides by thick woods, with a stream running down the other, and our path behind us. I climbed out and stretched, taking a deep breath in of the fresh air.

"This is awesome!" I said, helping to pull all the gear out. The four of us erected the three-room tent and I laughed when Carlisle passed Emmett the shovel.

"Your turn – Edward did it last time," he said with a smile.

Emmett walked off into the trees, mumbling something about 'stupid latrine digging Doctor' under his breath.

"I still don't get why we can't just crap behind a tree," Edward said to his father with a laugh.

Emmett came back a short while later and we ate the sandwiches Esme had made for lunch.

We passed the afternoon fishing in the small, clear stream. We didn't talk a lot and at one point Emmett fell asleep in his chair. Carlisle rolled up his jeans and waded quietly into the water, attaching a small branch to the end of Emmett's line.

Emmett woke and jumped up, almost overbalancing is his still-sleepy state. "I've got one!" he yelled, reeling it in. His face fell when he realised what it was.

Carlisle, Edward and I were rolling around on the ground with tears streaming down our faces. "Well aren't y'all a bunch of funny fuckers," Emmett drawled, untangling his branch and throwing it back into the stream.

"Language Emmett," Carlisle warned, still laughing. He looked at his watch. "Who's on fire duty? We're going to need a way to cook these," he said, indicating the small pile of fish we'd caught.

"I'll do it," I volunteered. "Advantage of having a dad in the Marines – you learn a lot of outdoorsy survival stuff!"

Half an hour later I had a fire going and a decent pile of firewood to the side to keep it alight later in the evening. The sky was looking threatening so I made a small pile just inside the tent in case we needed to get a fire going the next morning.

We wrapped potatoes in foil and threw them in the fire to cook and Carlisle pulled a salad out of the cooler. We cooked the fish on toasting forks and ate on the ground, looking at the stars.

Edward and Carlisle went to wash the few bowls we had used in the stream, and Emmett came and sat beside me at the fire.

"So, are you sleeping with my sister?" he asked quietly.

I turned to find him glaring at me, no doubt trying to intimidate me. I raised an eyebrow before replying, "Are you sleeping with mine?"

Emmett's face broke into his familiar dimpled grin. "Touché," he replied. "I'll mind my business. Just know that if you hurt her, we'll bring you out here again but you won't be going home."

"Deal," I replied. "And even though you're twice my size, mess with Rose and you'll have both me _and_ Bella to deal with!"

Emmett chuckled at that. "That's only if Bella doesn't trip over her own feet first!"

"What about Bella?" Edward asked as they came back.

"Nothin'," Emmett replied, throwing me a wink.

Edward just shrugged. "Hey Jas, did you bring your guitar?"

I nodded and went to get it, coming back and sitting on a stool near the fire. We spend the next couple of hours being fools. I was surprised that Carlisle had a good singing voice. Emmett did a hilarious version of 'Time of Your Life' by Green Day and Edward and Carlisle sang '3 AM' by Matchbox 20, after Edward refused to sing on his own.

"Your turn now," Edward challenged me.

Without thinking, I started playing 'Undiscovered'. By the time I finished, Emmett was smirking. "No wonder Alice is so crazy about you – she loves that song."

Edward and Carlisle started in as well but it was all in good fun so I took it with a smile, giving as good as I got.

We turned in around midnight and Emmett's snores kept me awake for a good hour. I woke when the sunlight started infiltrating the tent and crawled out to find Carlisle making coffee over the fire.

"Morning," he said quietly. "So much for the rain." He indicated the blue sky – one of the first I'd seen since arriving in Forks.

"Better to be safe than sorry," I quipped.

Emmett and Edward emerged soon after I did and I laughed as Emmett stumbled off into the woods with the shovel and a roll of what Carlisle assured me was biodegradable toilet paper. By the time he returned the coffee was ready and Carlisle was cooking bacon and eggs over the fire.

We packed the tent up after breakfast and went for a walk along a small trail through the woods, bringing us out on a bluff with the most amazing view. We spent some time there, taking photos and just looking around and then headed back to the campsite when the wind started to blow.

"Looks like the rain is coming after all," Carlisle called from the front of the line, just as the first drops started falling. We ran the rest of the way and all four of us were soaked through by the time we reached the Jeep.

"No way are you lot getting in there dripping wet," Emmett complained.

"Well there's nowhere to get dry Em, is there?" Edward countered.

In the end, Emmett gave up and we loaded up and headed back towards the highway. We stopped at the first gas station we came across and took turns getting changed into dry clothes in the tiny bathroom.

We stopped again halfway home at a dinky roadside diner for lunch. "This wasn't part of the plan, but since we had to take off early we really have no choice," Carlisle said, watching as Emmett crammed half a burger in his mouth in one go.

We arrived back in Forks at 3 and the Cullens dropped me off before heading home. Rosalie's car was gone so I figured she was either working on it or out shopping with the girls.

I let myself in to the quiet house and dropped my bag and guitar in the foyer before heading through to the kitchen for a glass of water. True to form, there was a note from Rosalie on the table with my name on the front.

_Jasper,_

_Bella and I are at the Cullen's, getting ready for dinner tonight. Can you please stay at home until Charlie gets there and let him know? Esme thought that you "men" might like a filling, home-cooked meal after being out in the woods all weekend and living on rats or whatever it is you do._

_See you tonight,_

_Rose._

I smiled as I read Rose's note. Edward had warned me that Esme would want to take care of us when we got home. I grabbed my gear and headed upstairs, throwing my wet clothes into the laundry hamper before heading for the shower.

Half an hour later I was putting a load of clothes in the washing machine when I heard the front door open. Charlie appeared in the kitchen a few seconds later.

"Hi Charlie," I called out. "We've been invited to the Cullen's for dinner."

"Sounds good to me – I'm beat," he called back. I heard the unmistakeable sound of him popping a beer open.

I turned the washing machine on and walked into the kitchen. "How was your weekend?"

"The fish were biting for everyone but me. Still nice to get away from everything though," he said. "How was yours?"

I filled him on the trip with the Cullen males, deciding not to mention that I had caught most of the fish we had for dinner.

"Did we need to take anything tonight?" he asked as we were getting ready to leave.

Rosalie hadn't mentioned anything in her note so I sent her a message to find out. Her reply came a few seconds later;

_Hey, Carlisle says it's Charlie's turn to bring the beer. R._

I passed the message along to Charlie. "Guess we'd better not take the cruiser then – can't be seen outside the liquor store in that!" he joked. "Did you want to take the Mustang for a run?"

I quickly agreed and ran upstairs to grab my keys. After a quick stop at the liquor store we headed over to the Cullen's house. I parked behind the Camaro and was amazed at the work Rosalie had done on it over the weekend. The whole car had been polished, including the tyres. It looked amazing.

Charlie and I walked up to the porch together and I punched the doorbell. Bella opened the door with a smile. "Welcome home!" she teased us, hugging Charlie and poking her tongue out at me.

"They're still not talking to us," I heard Emmett call from inside.

I found him and Edward in the living room, playing _Raving Rabbids_ on the Wii. "Hey caveman!" Emmett greeted me. "We're almost done with this round – wanna play?"

"No he doesn't!" I turned around just as Alice smacked into me, full force. "He wants to show me his new car."

I mouthed 'sorry' over my shoulder to the guys as Alice dragged me back outside.

"I didn't think you girls were talking to us?" I teased as she stood on her tiptoes to kiss me.

"That's just Bella and Rose – I missed you too much to not talk to you," she said, punctuating her sentence with another kiss.

I spent a few minutes showing Alice the Mustang which she quickly named 'Big Red' before asking when we were going to christen the back seat.

"Not right now with both our families inside," I replied, trapping her between my body and the car. "Maybe I'll just have to take you out one night?"

"How's tomorrow?" she asked, pressing herself impossibly closer to me.

"I have to work," I grumbled. "Monday is my day and Thursday is Rosalie's day, and we're trading off Saturdays."

"It's ok – one night this week then?" Alice asked.

I nodded and moved in to kiss her again.

"Dinner's ready!" Edward bellowed from the porch.

"Cockblocker," Alice muttered under her breath.

We headed inside hand in hand which earned both of us death stares from Rosalie and Bella. They both melted almost instantly when Emmett and Edward pulled out their chairs for them.

Dinner was a lamb roast with all the trimmings and apple crumble with homemade custard for dessert. The adults gave us half an hour to ourselves before heading home.

Alice attacked me as soon as we were alone in her room. We made out on the bed for a few minutes before I felt her hand sneak into my cargo pants.

"Not tonight baby," I whispered, gently pulling her hand back out.

"Why not?" she pouted.

"Because I want to be able to lay here and hold you afterwards," I whispered, pulling her against me again.

Charlie called up the stairs that it was time to go at 9:30 and I grudgingly let Alice go and tried to fix my hair after straightening my shirt. Charlie rode home in the Mustang with me and Rose and Bella followed in the Camaro.

I was in my room, making sure I had all my books for school the next day when Bella stuck her head in. "Get some?" she asked.

I whirled around in shock. "What?"

"You guys had half an hour, just wondering what you got up to," she replied innocently.

"We talked," I shot back, turning around and taking a deep breath.

The door closed and Bella spoke again. "Alice and I had a bit of a chat while Rosalie was tinkering with her car," she said softly.

I dropped my head, embarrassed that Bella knew what I had been up to with her best friend.

"I'm not mad Jas. Alice told me that she started it all, and that she told you about Alaska."

I turned to face her. "Did she tell you that I didn't exactly stop what she started?"

Bella giggled. "She wasn't complaining, trust me."

A relieved smile spread across my face. _She's not complaining – guess it's time to find something new for when we christen the car.._.


	9. Legs

**A/N:** I don't own Twilight – it belongs to the genius that is Stephenie Meyer. I do own these incarnations of her characters that play games in my mind.

So I haven't updated for a while…I don't have a good excuse, so I'm not going to insult you with a bad one.

I really will try to get the next chapter out on Monday or Tuesday next week, but please don't be surprised if it doesn't happen!

Thanks for the reviews – it's nice to know that people are still around.

Happy reading!

Legs

The next couple of days were pretty standard. I started at Frank's on Monday after school, and after filling out the paperwork he asked me if I knew how to do an oil change. I nodded and he asked me if I could drain the oil out of a new-looking Audi. After he showed me where all the tools and drip pans were I got to work and had it done in no time. I replaced the sump plug and Frank checked it all before giving me the ok to fill it up again.

He spent the rest of the afternoon showing me where various things were and helping me to polish the Mustang. The red polished up brilliantly and we were still admiring it when six o'clock came.

"Thanks for today Jasper, I really appreciate it," Frank said. "Will you be here Saturday?"

I shook my head. "This weekend is Rosalie's weekend, so I'll see you on Monday." We said our goodbyes and I drove home to find that Charlie had brought Indian takeout home for dinner.

I filled them in on my job at Frank's and Rose was excited when I told her I got to do the oil change. We both thought we wouldn't get much of an opportunity to do 'real' work so it was a nice surprise.

I helped Charlie clean up after dinner then headed upstairs to shower. I was sitting at my desk working on some calculus problems when my phone rang. It was Alice.

"Hey baby," I greeted her.

"Hey yourself," she teased. "How was work?"

"It was great!" I told her, filling her in on what I got to do.

"Are you working this weekend?" she asked.

"Nope, Rose is taking the first Saturday, so I'm all yours…if you want me?"

She giggled. "How about we go out Friday night and christen your car?"

All the blood in my body rushed to my cock at the tone in her voice. "What did you have in mind?"

"You'll just have to wait and see," she cooed.

I groaned loudly and we talked for a few more minutes before saying goodnight and hanging up.

Turning back to my calculus, I quickly wrote it off as a bad idea. Images of Alice straddling me in the back of my car flashed across my eyes and I knew I was going to have to take care of my raging hard-on before I went to sleep.

I rose from my chair and checked the door was locked before I kicked off my flannel pyjama pants, yanked off my t-shirt and settled on my bed. I pulled a couple of tissues from the box on my nightstand and sat them next to me, then closed my eyes and let my imagination run wild.

_Alice hovering over me in the back seat of my car, her perky breasts in my face, wearing her school skirt and blouse. Alice on her knees in the back of my car with my dick in her mouth. Alice underneath me in my bed while I pumped in and out of her._

The last image was my undoing and I had to stifle a moan as I came hard all over my hand and chest. "Fuck," I grumbled to myself and I cleaned up with the tissues. A second shower for the night would draw attention so I quickly washed my chest off with a washcloth when I went to clean my teeth.

Sleep came quickly and easily because I was so relaxed but the boner was back when I woke the next morning. I relieved the tension under the shower, being careful to remove all traces of my activities – I shuddered when I imagined Rosalie's reaction.

The day was cold and I wasn't surprised when Bella and Rose were both wearing their long skirts at breakfast. I opted for a long-sleeved shirt and vest and grabbed my blazer out of the closet as I headed downstairs.

I drove the three of us to school and we met up with the others in the parking lot. Angela and Ben arrived a few minutes later and came over as well.

"You pumped for the first game of the season?" Ben asked Emmett, who nodded enthusiastically.

"We should have a party or something afterwards," Alice suggested, snuggling into my side.

"Could be fun," Bella said, "depending on who we invited…"

The bell rang then, effectively ending the discussion. We started talking about it again at lunch but the conversation ended abruptly when two girls started fighting over the other side of the cafeteria. Teachers quickly moved in to separate them and we all laughed when we realised it was Lauren and Jessica.

Rumours spread all through the afternoon, but the one I heard the most was that Lauren had caught Jessica in bed with her brother – apparently it didn't seem to matter that Lauren had slept with Jessica's brother the year before.

Dinner was a quiet affair – Bella was out with Edward and Charlie was working late so Rose and I made spaghetti bolognaise and then went our separate ways. I finished my calculus homework that had been abandoned the night before then settled on my bed with my American History textbook. We were studying the Civil War and I was really into it.

I sent Alice a text as I was getting into bed and she replied a few minutes later;

_Miss you too. Can't wait to christen your car on Friday night. Sleep tight. xA._

That thought alone recreated my problem from the night before. Fifteen minutes and quick shower later I was back in bed and drifting off to sleep.

The next couple of days and nights passed in much the same fashion. I was a mess when Friday finally arrived – I had no idea what Alice was expecting so I cornered Bella after breakfast.

"I need a word," I said under my breath as I followed her and Rose up the stairs.

She nodded and when we reached the second floor she asked me to look over her English essay for her.

Once I was safely in her room, she closed the door and turned to me. "You're nervous about your date with Alice," she guessed.

I nodded. "She's been talking all week about christening my car, I just don't know what she's expecting." I sat down on the bed with a huff.

Bella came and sat beside me. "Just go with your instincts."

I groaned and dropped my head into my hands. "That's not a good idea," I mumbled.

She laughed softly. "You won't go all caveman on her Jas – I know you better than that."

I felt better after talking with Bella and made it through the day at school with no real dramas. Alice and I talked and decided I'd pick her up at her place at 5:30, then we'd drive to Port Angeles for dinner and go from there.

I pulled into the Cullens' driveway right on 5:30 and Emmett and Edward were tossing a football around.

"Hot date?" Edward teased as I walked up the steps to the porch.

"Something like that," I shot back as Carlisle opened the door.

"Hi Jasper, come on in," he said, standing aside so I could enter while extending his hand.

I shook it as I passed and Alice came skipping in from the kitchen. My heart leapt into my throat. She was wearing a skirt similar to her school skirt but a whole lot shorter, a tight v-neck t-shirt and a cardigan thing. _You're in trouble,_ my brain told me as she came over and hugged me.

"Ready to go?" she asked, her eyes shining.

"Mmm hmm." I wasn't sure I trusted my voice.

"You kids have a nice evening," Carlisle said as we headed back out the door. "Have her home by midnight please Jasper."

"Not a problem sir," I answered, making him laugh.

"It's Carlisle – sir makes me feel old," he chuckled.

I relaxed somewhat once we were in the car and headed towards Port Angeles…until Alice reached over and placed her hand on my thigh.

"I can't believe we've had no time alone together this week," she sighed, letting her head drop back on the seat.

I reached down and rubbed the back of her hand with my thumb before sliding my hand between hers and my leg. "I know. I missed you, you know?"

She turned her head and smiled at me. "Missed you too. But tonight is all about us, right?"

I nodded focussed back on the road. We talked about the fight between Lauren and Jessica for a while – they had both been suspended for the rest of the week.

Alice directed me to a small Italian restaurant once we arrived and we were seated in a booth. Alice snuggled against me as we looked at the menu and I jumped when her hand snuck into my lap, banging my knee on the underside of the table.

"Jumpy, aren't we?" she teased innocently.

"I just wasn't expecting that," I replied, gasping as her hand moved up to rest firmly over my already-there erection.

Her eyes grew wide. "And _I_ wasn't expecting _that_," she said, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Not here," I whispered. "Wait till we're alone in the car, ok?"

She nodded and withdrew her hand but stayed close to me until our meals came.

We talked about where we grew up over dinner. Alice was amazed that I had lived my entire life before Forks on Marine bases.

"Do you miss your dad?" she asked.

"Yeah, but I'm liking Forks, and living like a normal person," I answered after a minute. "Dad emails us once a week and calls now and then, and he's hoping to make it here for Christmas as well. Which reminds me, it snows here right?"

Alice grimaced. "It does, but it never really settles. Unless there's a really heavy fall during the night it pretty much turns to mush within two minutes of landing."

The topic changed to bad Christmas presents, Alice winning hands down with most of her gifts from Emmett over the last couple of years. "I'm sure Rose will pull him into line," I assured her.

We shared a rocky road ice-cream sundae for dessert then window-shopped for half an hour before returning to the car.

"Ready to head home?" I asked, suddenly nervous.

Alice glanced at her watch and the sexiest smirk crept over her face. "It's not even ten yet Jas – may I suggest a detour?"

_How does she make me hard with just words?_ I thought as I turned to face her.

"Can you give me directions while I drive?" I asked.

She nodded. "Go as if you're heading back to Forks – I'll tell you when to pull over."

We were halfway home when Alice directed me to a side road. If not for her early warning I would have missed it. It was more of a gravel track than a road so I drove slowly, not wanting to hurt the car and also not sure of where I was going. After a few minutes we reached a fork and Alice told me to go right. The track all but disappeared then we pulled into a gravel parking lot. It was deserted but you could see for miles.

"The view is amazing from out here," Alice said quietly. "The land used to belong to the Quileutes but because of some court thing they don't have ownership any more so it gets neglected."

"It's a shame – I can see this being a great place to just relax," I replied, staring up at the stars through the windshield.

Alice unclipped her seatbelt and leaned over, planting a soft, wet kiss just below my ear. "I've missed you Jasper," she whispered against my ear before tugging the lobe gently between her teeth.

I couldn't stop the groan that escaped as she turned my face towards hers. I kissed her hard, slipping my tongue between her lips and sliding my hand into her hair. "Wanna move this to the back seat?"

Alice moaned softly against my mouth and nodded slightly. I finally removed my seatbelt and pulled the keys from the ignition. Once we were in the back I leaned forward and locked the front doors. "Just to be on the safe side," I said in reply to Alice's quizzical look. "Now where were we?"

My dreams became reality as Alice straddled me and leaned in to kiss me. I couldn't stop my hands as they squeezed her knees and slowly slid up the backs of her legs, coming to rest just below her ass.

"Higher," she moaned against my neck, dropping kisses in her wake.

I involuntarily ground my hips up towards her as I slid my hands under her tiny skirt, grabbing her ass. It was my turn to moan as I felt the satin and lace under my fingers. "What the fuck are you wearing?"

She pulled back and looked at me with a twinkle in her eye. "If you're a good boy you'll get to find out." She lowered herself fully into my lap and started moving against me, setting a smooth rhythm.

I slid my hands up to her shoulders and pushed her cardigan down her arms, throwing it into the front seat. "How many people know about this place?" I asked as my hands slid up the back of her shirt.

"No-one comes here Jas – just relax," she whispered as she started unbuttoning my shirt. She reached the bottom and moved to slide it off my shoulders but I stopped her.

"My turn first," I said, sliding her t-shirt over her head. It joined her cardigan in the front of the car and then my eyes slid to her bra. It was black – all black and lacy and silky. I cupped her breasts in my hands and grew even harder at the whimpers that escaped her lips. I pulled one of the bra cups down and gently took her nipple into my mouth.

"Oh fuck yes!" she moaned, moving her hands to my hair and pulling hard.

I moved to the other side and slid my hands around her tiny back, fumbled for a minute with the clasp on her bra then finally got rid of the damned thing.

"You have got to be the sexiest girl alive," I whispered before going back to my earlier ministrations.

Alice's grinding and mewling was starting to drive me insane so I slid one of my hands up under her skirt and started stroking her through the silk there.

"You're so fucking wet," I groaned into her neck, shifting the material aside and sliding two fingers inside her.

"Oh fuck!" she cried out.

I moved faster and she continued grinding onto my hand. "Jas, wait, there's something I want to ask," she panted out.

I slowed my movements but left my fingers inside her, revelling in the way she felt around me. "What is it?" I asked.

Alice blushed even redder than she already was. "Have you ever…gone-down-on-a-girl?"

I slowly replayed what she had said in my mind. It had come out in a rush, but she had definitely asked…

I shook my head. "But there's a first time for everything," I suggested. Her eyes grew wide so I continued, "If I move the passenger seat forward we'll have more room in the back?"

She nodded and slid off my lap. I quickly reached around the passenger seat and lifted the lever, sliding the seat forward as far as it would go, leaning the back of the seat towards the dash to make even more room. I knelt on the floor and beckoned Alice over, placing one leg on either side of me. I slid my hands back up her skirt, bunching the material around her waist, and slowly slid her satin and lace underwear down her legs and off over her shoes.

We'd fooled around…a lot…over the last few weeks but I'd never seen her pussy from this angle. I knew she shaved down there from one of the random conversations we'd had, but this was something else. I could see how wet she was and I couldn't wait to taste her.

Sliding my hands under her butt to lift her slightly up and forwards, I leaned in and kissed my way down from the valley between her breasts. I paused when I reached her wetness and looked up at her.

"Does it smell funny?" she whispered.

"No Ali," I smiled up at her. "I just want you to know that I'm really glad my first time doing this is with you."

She tangled her fingers in my hair again and I slowly lowered my mouth between her legs. I darted my tongue out for a taste and it wasn't anything like I'd expected. It wasn't the most wonderful thing I'd ever tasted, but it was far from the worst. And Alice's reaction made it all the more enjoyable.

If I thought she liked it when I made her come with my fingers, the way she responded to my tongue made me feel like I was the only guy on the planet. I licked hard and then gently, used the tip of my tongue and then flattened it out, and she seemed to be loving every second of it. I knew she was close when she started saying my name each time she breathed, and less than a minute later her hands fisted in my hair and her hips rose off the seat.

"Oh shit!" she yelled. I kept going for a few minutes until she stilled my head with her hands. "You can stop down Jas."

I pulled away, dropping soft kisses down her legs. I moved up to kiss her but she pulled away.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

She giggled. "You might not mind the taste, but I'm not kissing you while you taste like…me!"

I laughed along with her and my laughter only increased as she leaned over to the front seat to pull a roll of breath mints out of her bag. She popped one in my mouth and I quickly wiped my lips and chin with the hem of my shirt.

Alice had pulled her underwear and t-shirt back on while I was cleaning myself up and she leaned in to kiss me. "That was amazing," she said.

"Are you sure?" I was pretty certain I had made her feel good but I wanted to be one hundred percent assured.

"My screams weren't enough?" she asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Well, we _have_ fogged the car up pretty well," I joked.

"Jas?" she asked, looking up at me from under her eyelashes. "Would you like me to return the favour?"

I took her hand and led it to the bulge in my jeans as a reply. "What do you think?"

"I don't mean with my hand," she said, slipping down onto the floor, unbuckling my belt and unzipping my jeans before my brain could process what she was doing.

"Are you sure?" I asked for the second time in less than five minutes.

She just raised her eyebrow at me and tugged my jeans and boxers down to my ankles. Leaning in, she ran her tongue from the base of my dick up to the head, then took it into her mouth.

"Holy shit fuck oh crap!" I gasped in a garbled string. Alice made me feel incredible with her hand but her mouth was something else.

I was mesmerised as I watched her head bob up and down, loving the way her warm mouth and hot tongue felt around me. She gently scraped me with her teeth and I hissed at the sensation.

"Ali I'm not going to last long," I warned her. "And I don't want to come in your mouth."

She slipped me out of her mouth and took over with her hand. "Well you'll have to warn me just before you come then, won't you?" she said, taking me back into her mouth.

I felt the pressure building but couldn't form the words, so I tapped her on the shoulder and tugged gently at her hair. She replaced her mouth with her hand again and thirty seconds later I exploded. Alice cleaned me up with tissues from her bag and I got dressed again.

We cuddled in the back seat for the next hour before reluctantly heading back home. I walked her to the door and kissed her gently, then promised to see her the next day before heading home, where I fell asleep before my head even hit the pillow.

I woke late on Saturday and helped Bella clean the house and do the laundry while Rosalie was at work. Edward, Emmett and Alice came over for dinner and a couple of DVDs and left just in time to make it home by midnight.

Sunday was spent doing homework. The three of us were sitting around the kitchen table with books strewn all over the place when Charlie walked in at five thirty.

"Leaving things to the last minute?" he asked with a smile.

"Not really, more like making a start on stuff that isn't due for a while," Rosalie answered.

We packed up and ate a simple dinner of nachos, followed up with chocolate cake and ice-cream for dessert.

"I have to go away on a training course," Charlie informed us as we were all scraping the last remnants of dessert out of our bowls.

"Where are you going this time?" Bella asked.

"Seattle again – I'm leaving on Friday around noon and won't be home until the following Thursday. Now, I normally have one of the guys from the station check in on Bella while I'm away, but since there's three of you I'll just ask them to drive by once a night when they're out patrolling. We need to set some extra rules for while I'm away though."

We all nodded and waited for Charlie to go on.

"Firstly, even though I won't be here, curfew still applies. Home by ten on school nights, midnight on weekends. Secondly, I'm going to talk to Doctor and Mrs Cullen and let them know that I'm going away, so I don't want the Cullen kids staying the night here. Saying that, I don't mind if you spend the weekend over there – if it's not too much trouble. And thirdly, no parties. I don't mind if the Cullens come over, and the other two you spend time with…"

"Angela and Ben," Bella supplied.

Charlie nodded and continued, "Angela and Ben. I trust the three of you and know that you'll be ok."

"Thanks Charlie," I said, Rosalie and Bella putting their own thanks in.

We cleaned up in record time and the three of us met up in Rosalie's room.

"So no party?" she asked.

"Especially not if dad's getting the guys from work to drive past," Bella said, shaking her head.

"Maybe we can have it at Alice's? Emmett's on the football team, after all?" I suggested.

Rose's eyes lit up. "Jas, you're the smartest man alive – great idea! Don't tell Alice – Bella and I will talk to her tomorrow."

We went our separate ways after that. I messaged Alice to say goodnight and fell asleep, dreaming about spending an uninterrupted weekend with her.


	10. Walkin' on Sunshine

**A/N:** I don't own Twilight or any of the other great stuff that belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I do own the slightly nuts characters in this story.

Sorry this has been so long coming! I can't promise when the next update will be – "Armed and Dangerous" will be updated again before Jasper's.

I do not condone under-age drinking – but we all know it happens.

Happy reading!

Walkin' on Sunshine

The first couple of days the next week passed in a regular blur. School and Frank's on Monday, school and homework with Alice on Tuesday, school and baseball practice on Wednesday.

Thursday morning I woke at 6:30 when Alice sent me a text;

_Hey there sexy! You all ready for the party this weekend?_

I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and wondered where she was going with this. Alice was _never_ awake this early.

_Can't wait – are your parents still ok with us spending the night?_

Since I was awake I got up and had a longer than usual shower and decided to shave as well, before heading back to my room. The text indicator on my phone was blinking.

_They're fine with it – they even checked with Charlie last night, because…_

_THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BE HERE!!!_

I took a second to process her message and was about to text her back when Rose barged into my room.

"Nothing like knocking, sis," I said, slightly annoyed.

"The door was unlocked – you're fair game," she said with a smile, sitting herself on my unmade bed.

"Whatever," I replied. "What's up?"

"Have you spoken to Alice this morning?"

"Only in texts – I'm guessing you've heard from Emmett?" I had a feeling I knew where this was going.

Rosalie nodded. "Jas, how will Alice feel if people are drinking at the party?"

Bella walked in the still-open door before I could answer. "Didn't mean to eavesdrop," she said, sitting on the floor. "As long as no-one thinks about driving or does anything stupid or dangerous, Alice will be ok. They've had parties there before and Emmett has kept a pretty good eye on people."

The three of us sat in silence for a few minutes. It was broken by Bella's phone ringing in her hand, making all three of us jump. "See you guys at breakfast," she said, walking out of the room and answering her phone. "Hey gorgeous…"

Rose and I made gagging noises and headed downstairs for breakfast. I pulled cereal boxes out of the pantry and grabbed the milk from the fridge while Rose set the table. We were just sitting down to eat when Bella walked in.

We talked about the party while we ate and continued the discussion in Rosalie's car on the way to school. We arrived earlier than usual thanks to the early wake-up from the Cullens and weren't surprised to see them already in the car park when we arrived.

"Ready for the par-tay?" Emmett asked with a grin as we approached.

"That all depends on if you'll be singing Michael Jackson songs or not!" I quipped, making everyone laugh.

We headed up towards the grassy area outside the administration building and sat down, talking about who had been invited and what we needed to organise. The bell rang and we went our separate ways, agreeing to finish the plans at lunch.

Alice and Rose came prepared at lunch with lists of who needed to do what, who was buying what food and so on.

"When did you manage to do this?" Emmett asked.

"Second period Spanish – we had a sub. I don't think anyone did anything productive," Rose answered.

I enjoyed the time I had with Alice during lunch because I wasn't going to see her that night. Charlie had insisted we all go out since it was his last night before he left for the week. Rosalie had spoken to Frank and he had agreed that she could work Friday after school instead so she could come along as well.

The afternoon dragged on and on. When the final bell rang I met Rosalie and Bella at the car and we headed home. Charlie was already there, having finished early since he was heading off the next day.

"Good day?" he greeted us from the couch as we walked in.

"Spectacular," Bella answered sarcastically as the three of us climbed the stairs.

We all changed and then congregated around the dining table for homework. I was writing an essay on the Civil War, Rosalie was putting the final touches on a presentation for her autoshop class and Bella was working on something for English that looked suspiciously like a re-write of last week's short story project.

I waited until Rose got up to go to the bathroom before I asked. "Bells, is that is re-write?"

She looked up and scowled. "Stupid idiot-head teacher doesn't get my style of writing. I've never had a teacher tell me my stories don't 'flow' before – this time he even told me that my characters aren't believable!"

"Want me to read it?" I offered.

She blew out in frustration and nodded. "Can I get you to read both? The old one and the one he wants?"

I nodded as Rose walked back in and sat down again.

At 5pm Charlie walked in and announced that it was time to get ready to go to dinner. We packed up our homework and I joined Charlie downstairs while the girls did whatever it is they do in the bathroom.

"Have you heard from Jack lately?" he asked me.

"Yeah – Rose and I got an email from him on Monday," I answered. "He's going to try and come visit over Christmas but he's not sure if he'll even get the leave, let alone how long he'll get."

Charlie nodded. "You miss him?"

"I do, but I'm liking living here in Forks. It's nice living a normal life – going to school, the movies, all that sort of thing. And you're a pretty good stand-in dad," I finished with a smile.

He chuckled. "Stand-in dad – I like that one."

We heard Bella and Rosalie coming down the stairs so we got up and met them in the hall before heading out and getting into the cruiser.

Dinner was at the diner again. Rosalie had developed an appreciation for the simple meals they served and got stuck into her chicken parmagiana when it arrived. Charlie had his usual steak, Bella had a garden burger and fries, and I opted for the crumbed fish and salad.

When we got home, Charlie went over the rules one last time and handed over money for groceries and the occasional takeout while he was away, which Rose and I quite happily left in Bella's care.

Rosalie suggested to me that we should give Bella and Charlie some time without us so we headed upstairs.

"You mind if I run a bath?" she asked as we got to her door.

I shook my head. "Nope. I think I might call Alice then have an early night."

I closed my door behind me and pulled my phone out of my pocket, unlocking the keypad and hitting speed dial 9.

"Hi!" Alice squealed down the phone.

I laughed. "You're entirely too excitable! What's happening?"

"Not much. Edward and Emmett are playing Guitar Hero in the living room, mom and dad are watching some movie in their room and I'm just reading."

"You're reading? I didn't think you liked to read?"

She blew a raspberry down the phone. "I like to read, just not books. Mom brought home the new Vanity Fair today so I swiped it after dinner."

Deciding fashion was a subject I didn't want to get her stuck on, I changed the topic. "You looking forward to the game?"

Alice launched into a blow-by-blow account of her latest cheerleading practice, telling me all about the new moves they had perfected, getting ready for the first game of the season. It was going to be her and Rose's first big performance and I knew they were both excited.

We talked for a while longer and hung up, and I sat with a smile on my face with the phone still in my hand.

A soft knock on my bedroom door brought me out of my reverie. "Come in."

Bella came in, followed by Rose. They both looked serious, which is always a worry.

I was sitting against my pillows at the head of my bed, and Rose sat at my feet, with Bella taking the desk chair.

"We need to talk to you about Alice," she said.

My eyes narrowed. "What about Alice?"

Rose looked at me and then dropped her gaze. "She's got…plans…for this weekend."

"What sort of plans?"

"Sex plans," Bella blurted. "Oops."

Rose laughed and shook her head. "Way to go for the Band-Aid effect Bella – quick and painless!"

I was stunned. I was hoping Alice I would fool around some more, but this was big. Maybe a little too big.

"Jas? You ok? You look a little pale," Bella said.

I nodded slowly. "I'm just not sure what I'm supposed to say…or think."

Rosalie reached out and squeezed my foot. "We just thought you should know that Alice has set some pretty high expectations, that's all."

"We all kinda thought you guys already had," Bella told me.

I shook my head. "I really like Alice, but this isn't something I'm going to do in a hurry," I told them. "Fuck! What am I supposed to do?"

"Do what feels right. And talk to her. Tell her how you feel."

"I never thought I'd be having the sex advice talk with my sister and cousin," I joked with a wry smile.

Bella smiled. "Be glad you have someone to have it with."

The girls left my room shortly after and I settled in under the covers for restless night's sleep.

***

Bella informed me at breakfast the next morning that I looked like death warmed up.

I struggled through the rest of the school week and was glad when the final bell rang Friday afternoon. Alice had been weird but I thought maybe I was imagining it.

"See you tonight?" she asked as we reached the parking lot.

"Yep – you guys are coming over for a movie, right?"

"Yeah, Emmett's going to drive us over around 8, so I'll see you then." She stretched up on her tiptoes and kissed me on the cheek, running across the lot to climb into the back of the Jeep.

The Cullens arrived a little after eight that night and we settled in with soft drink, popcorn and the original Star Wars trilogy. The plan was to watch A New Hope and then watch The Empire Strikes Back the following Friday, and Return of the Jedi on Saturday.

Alice fell asleep on my shoulder before Luke even met Yoda, and Rose wasn't far behind. The movie finished and we woke the girls, and the decision that the Cullens would go home was made before the question was even asked.

I woke on Saturday morning by the low hum of Rosalie's hairdryer in the bathroom and headed downstairs in my pyjamas for breakfast. Bella was finishing up pancake batter so I helped her cook. Rose joined us just as the first pancakes were ready and the coffee dripper stopped.

Bella was spending the day with Edward while Rose and Alice were at the school, helping to set up for the game that evening. We agreed that we'd all meet there half an hour before kickoff.

I spent the rest of the morning making a half-assed attempt at homework, showered around lunch time and decided to spend some quality time with my guitar.

I got my stuff together for the night at the Cullen's and threw it in the back of the Boss, reaching the school parking lot at the same time as half of Forks. I met Bella and Edward outside my English classroom and we headed over to the football field, grabbing seats halfway back on the halfway line.

Alice and Rose spotted up when they ran out with the rest of the cheer squad, waving and smiling. The girls danced for about 15 minutes and then the PA system crackled to life, announcing that kickoff between the Whitlock Academy Wolves and the Forks High Falcons was only minutes away. The cheer squad moved to the side of the field and a girl dressed in Falcons colours walked to the middle of the playing surface. The PA blared again, asking everyone to be upstanding for the national anthem.

We stood, we sang, we sat down. I turned to Edward and asked, "Why is a Forks High student singing at a Whitlock home game?"

"Tradition," he shrugged. "For some reason, someone from the opposition school sings the anthem – it's just always been that way."

The team lineups were announced and we cheered loudly when Emmett's name was read out. The Forks High team ran out amid boos and hisses, which quickly turns to cheers and whistles as the cheer squad hit the field again when the home team ran out.

The first half was close, with the Falcons up by 2 at the break. Bella took off to the bathroom and the concession stand just before the hooter, bringing back burgers and fries for the three of us.

The second half was more of the same, until Emmett pulled a spectacular play from nowhere. The crowd was on its feet when the final siren sounded – Whitlock had won by three.

Bella, Edward and I hung around after the game, waiting for Alice, Rose and Emmett. The girls had ridden together in Rosalie's car and Emmett had arrived with a team mate. He left with Rose and Alice rode with me. It was an oddly silent trip.

An hour later, the party at the Cullen's was in full swing, with footballers and cheerleaders every where. Emmett played bouncer at the door for a while, trading off with Edward once most people had arrived.

Everyone threw in $5 for dinner and we ordered pizzas, so the mood quietened a little when they arrived and everyone settled in to eat.

Emmett mentioned to me later in the evening that a few people were drinking and he was keeping an eye on them, and that Alice might need some extra support if things turned south. He need not have worried.

Someone put in an 80s CD and Alice practically crash-tackled me when "Walkin' on Sunshine" by Katrina and the Waves came on.

"Jas! We HAVE to dance!" she squealed, pulling me into the living area where a makeshift dance area had sprung up.

"Are you ok?" I asked, taking in her pink cheeks and wide, sparkling eyes.

"Awesome!" she said with a tinkling laugh. "Why wouldn't I be? My friends are here, Emmett made his punch, and I love this song!"

I passed it off as Alice being in a hyper mood and danced with her for a while. When a slower song came on, I suggested a break and headed over to the drinks table, ladling out some of Emmett's famous punch for the two of us.

I took a sip of mine and immediately knew why Alice was acting so high. I snuck into the kitchen and tipped the drinks into the sink, then headed back out and poured Alice a lemonade.

I found her out at the picnic table and handed the drink to her. "I'll be back in a sec – just gotta use the little boy's room," I told her, kissing the top of her head and going back inside.

"Have you seen Emmett?" I asked a guy who was standing just inside the door.

"I think he headed upstairs with his girlfriend," he replied.

_Fuck_, I thought. _No way am I interrupting that._

Starting to panic, I turned back to the room and looked for Edward, finding him over near the wall with Bella, Angela and Ben.

"I need your help," I said quietly to him when I got there.

He nodded silently and followed me back to the drink table.

"Have you had the punch?" I asked.

He shook his head no. "Why?"

I ladled out a small amount into a cup and handed it over. Edward took a sip and his eyes grew wide. "No way Emmett did that," he said to me, lifting the punch bowl and carrying it into the kitchen where he tipped it down the sink.

"Alice has been drinking it," I said.

"Shit!" he exclaimed. "Where's Emmett?"

"Apparently he went upstairs with Rose."

"Shit! I'm not interrupting that!"

"I will," came Bella's voice from behind us. "Emmett's the only one who'll be able to get people to leave. Jas, you need to get Alice and get her to her room. Edward and I will handle the rest."

I nodded and went back outside, finding Alice dancing on the picnic table. "Come on pixie, let's go upstairs," I said with an uneasy laugh, offering my hand.

"Piggy back me!" she giggled, latching onto my back.

Being light as a feather, I didn't see it as a problem, so I carried her on my back upstairs to her room.

"Wanna lie down for a while?" I suggested.

"Only with you," she purred, pulling her t-shirt over her head.

"Ali, wait," I said.

"What, you want to do it for me?" she suggested, coming and standing in front of me, swaying slightly.

"Alice, how much of Emmett's punch did you drink?"

"Ummm…four of five glasses?" It came out as a question. "Why? Didn't I leave enough for everyone else?"

"That's not it," I replied.

"Good," she answered, unbuttoning her jeans and trying to pull them off over her Chuck Taylors.

"Ali, stop trying to get naked," I said softly, pulling her jeans back up and leading her to the bed.

"Why? Fuck Jasper, you're here, I'm here, I'm horny and I'm pretty sure you could be too. So why?"

"Someone spiked the fucking punch, that's why! And I don't want you to be drunk our first time!" I let it all out, standing up and starting to pace around the room.

"Drunk? Me? Don't be ridiculous!" she yelled. "I don't touch the stuff!"

I moved back over to her and gently took her wrists in my hands. "I know you don't sweetie, but if someone spiked the punch it's out of your control."

"I'm not drunk!" she yelled again, her voice suddenly louder as the music stopped downstairs. "Why is the music off? Jasper, let me go!"

I dropped her wrists and she headed for the door. "Alice, if you're going out there, you might want to put your shirt back on," I suggested quietly.

She stopped at the door. "I think you should leave."

"It's…wait, what?"

"Well you don't believe me, and you obviously don't want me, so I think you should leave." She turned and fixed her still-sparkling eyes on me.

"Alice," I started, stepping towards her.

"Don't 'Alice' me! I don't drink, therefore I'm not drunk. And tonight was the perfect opportunity for us to give ourselves…ah screw it…to fuck each other senseless, and you obviously don't want to, so I think you should leave."

I felt like I'd been slapped. "Please…" The word fell as a whisper from my lips.

"Get – out," she said coldly, pulling her robe off the hook and covering herself before opening the door and pointing.

My feet headed for the door against my will. "I'll call you tomorrow," I said quietly as I stopped and wrapped by arms around her.

She shrugged them off. "Don't bother. Now get – out."

I took one more look at the girl I thought I was falling in love with and walked out the door and down the stairs.

Most of the party goers had left and I headed silently past Edward and Bella, and Rose and Emmett.

I paused at the door. "I'm guessing you guys heard all that, so I'll see you tomorrow."

Noone tried to stop me so I walked out and down to the Boss, heading back to Charlie's on my own.


	11. More Than I Deserve

**A/N:** I don't own Twilight or any of the other great stuff that belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I do own the slightly nuts characters in this story.

So…another took-forever update. Again, no good excuses, just a big I'm sorry. This chapter is going to be more than a little angsty, but you probably expected that after what just happened.

Happy reading!

More Than I Deserve

Bella and Rose arrived home no more than half an hour after I did. I could hear them whispering in the hallway and decided to put them out of their misery.

"You can come in," I called quietly.

The door cracked open, letting in a little light, and the girls walked into my dark bedroom quietly, Rose sitting on the end of my bed and Bella sitting in the desk chair.

"I'm so sorry Jas," Bella whispered.

"Why?" I asked, sitting up and turning on the lamp on my bedside table. "You didn't spike the punch, you didn't make Alice drink it…it's not your fault. What I wouldn't give to get my hands on the fucker who spiked the punch!"

Rosalie nodded. "I know. I didn't have any of the punch because Emmett forgot I'm allergic and put pineapple in it, otherwise I probably could have stopped Alice sooner."

"Not your fault either Rose," I said softly. "Did you guys see her before you left?"

Both girls shook their heads. "She refused to see anyone. Emmett was still trying to get her to let him in when we left," Bella explained.

I dropped my head into my hands. "I should have stayed with her."

I felt Rosalie's weight shift on the end of the bed, then she was sitting next to me with her arm around my shoulders. "You weren't to know Jas. Alice had other friends there, and so did you – there's no rule saying you have to spend all your time together at parties."

"And so you know, Emmett has threatened to put a hole in the face of whoever spiked the punch," Bella threw in with a wry smile.

I couldn't help but smile at that. "I wouldn't want to get in his way."

My phone beeped next to me and I pounced on it, hoping it was Alice. It wasn't.

_Jas, Emmett. Alice isn't coming out or letting us in, but she said_

_she doesn't want to hear from you. Will call in the morning._

I read the message aloud and Bella sighed. "I know it's going to be hard, but you need to respect her wishes, however misguided they might be."

I nodded, feeling numb. "I think I just want to go to sleep, do you guys mind?"

Rose shook her head and gave my shoulders a squeeze. "Not at all. But you let us know if we can do anything, yeah?"

I nodded again and mumbled a goodnight as they left my room, pulling the door shut behind them. I changed into a pair of sweats and a t-shirt and climbed under the covers, laying on my back and staring at the ceiling. All I could see was Alice's face as she told me to get out.

I tossed and turned until the sun came up and finally gave it up as a bad joke. I climbed out bed and got dressed for a run, zipping my phone and iPod into my pocket. I left a scribbled note for the girls in case they got up before I came back and headed outside, spending a few minutes stretching in the yard before heading off at a jog.

I built up speed as I headed towards the centre of town, before detouring off a side street and going towards the river. I kept my pace as I ran for a bit longer, then turned and retraced my steps until I came to a picnic area. I stopped and grabbed a drink from a water fountain and caught my breath. Looking around, I realised that Alice and I had been here not even two weeks ago for a picnic lunch.

Before I could let my emotions get the better of me, I changed the track on my iPod and headed for home. I let myself in quietly and took a shower before heading back to the kitchen. I pulled out bacon and eggs from the fridge, and turned the oven on to cook some hash browns. I measured coffee grounds into the dripper and turned it on, setting the table while I waited for the oven to get hot.

The smell of sizzling bacon lifted my spirits a bit and I was just cracking eggs into the bacon fat when Rosalie walked into the kitchen.

"Have I mentioned you're my favourite brother?" she joked, giving me a kiss on the cheek and pouring three mugs of coffee.

"Only when I'm making you breakfast," I replied with a genuine smile.

Bella shuffled in a minute or two later and offered to help, but I told her to sit and relax. I made some toast, pulled the hash browns out of the oven, and carried breakfast to the table.

We started eating in silence and I was glad I was where I was. Bella and Rose were two of my favourite people, and they both knew and understood me well enough to know not to say anything. I was shovelling the last scraps of breakfast into my mouth when the phone rang.

Bella stood up and grabbed the receiver. "Bella Swan speaking."

Her eyes went wide and she turned away from us. "Yep…uh huh…are you sure?..We'll be there…No, I won't bring Jasper…Ok…Bye." She hung up and turned around slowly.

"Alice." I wasn't asking a question, just making a statement.

Bella nodded. "She wants Rose and me to go over there this afternoon, but she doesn't want to see you. I'm sorry Jas."

I felt like I'd been kicked in the stomach as I nodded slowly. "If that's what she wants…"

"We can take a message though, if you want?" Rose offered.

That gave me an idea. "Sounds like a good idea," I replied. "Do you girls mind cleaning up?"

Bella shook her head. "You cooked, we clean. Fair deal."

"Thanks," I said, jumping up and kissing them both on the top of the head. "I'll be in the attic."

I ran up the stairs, stopping in my room to grab my old laptop, guitar and plug-in microphone. I took the stairs to the small attic and placed the laptop and microphone on the small table and sat down on the rickety old chair.

The attic had been my refuge since we moved in when I wanted to play the guitar and didn't want others to hear me. Charlie and I had spent a Sunday cleaning out the cobwebs and dust, and lining the walls with old egg cartons to help keep the sound in. I hadn't used it for recording yet but I was hoping the sound would be ok.

I turned on the computer and fired up the old recording program I'd been using for a few years. There were better options out there, but I knew how it worked and what sort of results I could get. I plugged in the mike and did a couple of tests, talking, singing and then playing to test the quality.

_Not bad,_ I thought to myself as I listened back. I've never claimed to be a great singer, but I can carry a tune well enough. I spent the next half hour or so playing the same song over and over, and when I thought I had it right I recorded three or four different versions.

I played them back and settled on the second one, burning it to a CD. I packed up and headed back down to my room, scrawling, 'For Alice – you're More Than I Deserve' on the disc before putting it in a sleeve.

Taking a deep breath, I went downstairs and handed it to Rose. "Can you give this to Alice for me?"

She looked at the title and smiled. "Damn straight I can," she answered with a smile. "And for the record? If I guy did this for me, I'd be running into his arms."

I smiled back. "Even if it's me singing, and not the original?"

"Especially because it's you – that's what makes it special."

"What's making what special?" Bella asked, coming in behind me.

"Nothing," Rosalie and I answered together.

Bella shrugged. "Ok with me. Who's for lunch?"

We all pitched in and made sandwiches, eating in the kitchen off napkins.

"What time are you going over there?" I asked, starting to doubt my gift.

"Alice asked us to be there at two, so I guess we'll leave in half an hour?" Bella answered, turning to Rose for confirmation, who nodded.

"Jasper, go out to Frank's for a while. Just tinker or something – take your mind of things," she suggested.

I changed into some old clothes and grabbed my keys and wallet, making sure my phone was in my pocket. I stuck my head in the kitchen and asked the girls to let me know when they were home, then headed for Frank's.

Rose was right. Working on the car out at Frank's took my mind off things for a couple of hours. My phone rang just after four and I couldn't get to it because my hands were covered in grease. I went and washed them off, then pulled my phone from my pocket to find a missed call from Bella, and a voicemail.

I dialled in and listened to the message; "_Jasper, it's Bella. Rosalie and I are on our way home from the Cullen's – we're going to get Chinese take-out for dinner after we pick a few groceries. See you at home for dinner round five thirty_."

I cleaned up after myself and said goodbye to Frank before heading home. It was a little after five when I got there so I took a quick shower – I didn't need Rosalie around to tell me I was on the nose. I was just pulling on a clean t-shirt when I heard the door open downstairs.

"Jas! Dinner!" Bella called.

"Coming!" I yelled back, checking my phone to see if Alice had called while I was in the shower. Nothing.

We ate in the living room in front of the TV while we watched the start of _Alvin and the Chipmunks_ and I left the girls there while I cleaned up, then re-joined them for the ending. The movie finished and Bella turned the TV off, turning to me.

"Jasper, Alice gave us your CD back," she said, taking my hand.

The air in my lungs rushed out and I felt like I was going to throw up.

"Jas? Are you ok?" Rose sounded worried, so I made the effort to nod.

"There's more," Bella said softly.

"Fuck," I muttered.

"When we got there, Alice was up in her room – Emmett met us at the door," Rosalie started. "He said Alice had only been out of her room a couple of times during the night, and he hadn't seen her all day. Every time he went upstairs to check on her, she told him to go away."

"She wouldn't let Edward in either," Bella took over the story. "So after we talked to the boys, we went upstairs and knocked on her door. She called out for us to come in. She was sitting on her bed in the same clothes she was wearing last night, holding an almost-empty bottle of vodka."

"She…wait, what?" I felt like I'd been slapped.

"Turns out she snuck downstairs after the boys went to bed and stole it last night, and she'd been drinking it ever since. She wasn't in a good way," Bella said.

Rose came and sat on my other side and took my other hand. "We managed to convince her to have a shower and change her clothes, but that was as far as we got. She wouldn't talk about last night, and when we told her you were worried she went off and told us to get out."

Bella squeezed my hand and continued. "We told her how upset you were, that you hadn't slept properly and stuff, and gave her the CD. She looked at it and gave it back to us, and told us she wants a few days on her own to sort things out. So, we left."

I nodded again – something I seemed to be doing a lot of. "I think I'm going to go to bed," I mumbled, standing up. I forgot that both of my hands were taken and was promptly pulled back onto the couch.

"Jas, we know this is going to be hard, but you just need to give her space," Bella said.

"I won't message or call her, I'll leave her be, I promise," I replied. I looked from one girl to the other, making sure they realised I was telling the truth. "The last thing I want to do is cause Alice any more pain."

They both nodded, releasing my hands so I could stand up. Both of them stood with me.

"Family hug!" Rose chirped, throwing her arms around me and pulling Bella into the hug as well. I hugged them back and laughed – it felt good.

"You girls are pretty awesome, you know that?" I said, poking them both in the ribs.

"Hell yeah!" Bella said, poking me back. "Now go get some sleep – you look like hell."

I cleaned my teeth and changed into my pyjamas, then lay on top of my bed. I wasn't ready to sleep so I grabbed a magazine off the floor and flipped through it for a while, finally getting into bed around ten.

I turned the light out and curled up, falling asleep thinking of Alice.


	12. The Day You Went Away

**A/N:** I don't own Twilight or any of the other great stuff that belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I do own the incarnations of her characters in this story.

I'm sorry this has been so long coming. This chapter was hard to write, but that's not really an excuse.

I hope you enjoy this since it's been so long coming!

Happy reading!

The Day You Went Away

The Monday after the party, Edward and Emmett came by the house before school. When I opened the door and saw Alice wasn't there, my heart dropped.

"She's not coming, is she?" I asked.

The boys shook their heads. "She's in a bad place Jas. She doesn't know which way is up," Emmett explained.

"And it's all my fault," I summarised, turning and heading for the couch.

Edward closed the front door as Emmett sat beside me. "It's not your fault Jasper. You didn't spike the punch, and you got rid of it as soon as you realised what was going on. You tried to help but because Alice didn't think she was drunk she thought you were just being a buzz kill."

"So she's blaming me."

"She is, but noone else is," Edward said quietly.

I dropped my head into my hands as Bella and Rosalie came in from the kitchen. I didn't need to see the looks that were being shared.

The following days blurred together. School, Frank's, baseball practice, but no Alice. I kept my word to Bella and Rose and didn't contact her. I wrote her letters and stuffed them in the back of my journal, knowing she would never see them.

Saturday morning I was home alone. Rose was at work, Charlie was fishing with Billy, and Bella was away at a swim team meet. I was flicking through the channels on the TV when the doorbell rang. I shuffled over to open it and was startled when Carlisle was on the other side.

"Dr Cullen? Come in," I said, moving to the side.

"Thanks Jasper, I won't keep you long," he replied as he moved to the couch.

I grabbed the remote and turned the TV off before sitting on the opposite end of the couch.

"Emmett and Edward are worried about you," he continued softly. "They're worried that you're blaming yourself for what Alice is going through."

I nodded. "They said that she blames me, even though noone else does."

"They're right. Jasper, you've been so good for Alice. We would see the two of you together and she was so happy – we've been waiting to see that ever since the accident. Alice has been afraid to love – her friendship with Bella was a big step forward, and you and Rosalie have been amazing."

"She's done wonders for me too. I've never felt like this about someone before – she makes me want to be a better person, just for her." I looked up to see Carlisle smiling sadly.

"This is going to take some time, Jasper. I just hope you're there for her when it's all over. Alice won't be returning to school for another couple of weeks – she's seeing a counsellor, and the boys are getting her assignments and handing her work in for her. She's pulled herself away from everyone to fight this – she won't even let Bella and Rose in at the moment."

The girls had told me as much. "I'll be there for her whenever she's ready to see me."

Carlisle reached out and placed a hand on my shoulder. "You're a good kid Jasper – don't let this change you."

I smiled wryly as he stood. "Thanks for coming by Dr Cullen – I appreciate it."

"It's Carlisle, remember?" he said with a smile. "You've become part of the family over the last few months – we care about you too."

After Carlisle left I sat back on the couch and stared at the blank TV screen. All I wanted to do was call her, or send her a letter – just reach out to her. But I didn't want to upset her so I didn't.

Three weeks later, Alice still wasn't back at school. Edward, Emmett, Rose and I travelled to Seattle with Bella for the weekend while she competed in a regional swim meet and it just didn't feel right – there should have been six of us.

We returned home late on Sunday to find a note from Charlie on the table.

"_Hi kids,_

_I've been called in to work to cover a shift so I won't be home – I've left money for pizza in the usual place._

_See you tomorrow,_

_Charlie."_

We chuckled at Charlie's reference to the usual place – he didn't like leaving money for us anywhere obvious, and he also didn't like saying where he'd left it. The usual place was sandwiched between two bowls in the cupboard.

Bella called through the order and we were all surprised when the doorbell rang ten minutes later.

"That was fast," she commented as she grabbed the money and headed for the door, leaving Rose and me at the kitchen table.

A couple of minutes passed and then we heard Bella calling us from the front of the house. We exchanged a confused look and headed out together. I stopped cold when I saw Alice standing in the doorway, flanked on one side by her brothers, and on the other by her parents.

"Alice?" I whispered.

She didn't look up – just kept looking at the ground. The tiny girl I had been falling in love with looked nothing like herself. Shrunken, scared – but not Alice.

Edward reached out and put his arm around his twin's waist, and Emmett reached around and squeezed her hand. "You need to say it Ali," he said quietly.

I saw Alice draw a deep breath and she looked up, straight into my eyes. Gone were the sparkly, cheery eyes I was used to. Now they were hollow and empty.

"Jasper, I'm sorry," she started softly. "I know what's happening to me isn't your fault, and I don't blame you any more. I realise that I need help, and I can't get that here in Forks. I wanted to wait until you all came home from Seattle so the boys could come with me." She broke eye contact with me to smile sadly at her brothers. "And I wanted to say goodbye to the three of you." She looked at Bella and Rosalie before looking back to me. "I'll be home in three months – hopefully you can all forgive me by then."

We moved to hug her but she shook her head. "Don't."

She turned and headed for Carlisle's Mercedes. Emmett stepped forward and took me by the shoulders. "Don't give up on her."

The three of us stood in the doorway and watched as the remaining Cullens walked down the driveway and got into the car, and continued watching as they drove away. I stood there until the car was gone from sight, then stumbled backwards and collapsed on the stairs.

Rosalie knelt in front of me and took my hands while Bella closed the door. I tried to hold back the tears but there was no stopping them. Rose moved forward and wrapped her arms around me, and Bella squeezed onto the stairs beside me and hugged me too.

The three of us sat there, not moving, until we were startled by the doorbell.

"Pizza," Bella mumbled thickly, standing up and wiping her eyes on her sleeve.

Rosalie helped me to my feet and Bella waited until we were in the living room before she opened the door and paid the delivery girl.

I muttered something about not being hungry any more and ran upstairs, closing my bedroom door behind me and sitting on the end of my bed. My eyes moved to the giant photo frame hanging above my desk. It was filled with photos of the six of us, a couple of me playing baseball, one or two of us with Angela and Ben, and the middle one was my favourite. A photo of me and Alice, taken the night we went ice skating. I stared at it for what seemed like forever, and was brought out of my reverie by a gentle knock at the door.

"Come in."

It was Rose, with a plate of pizza. "I thought you might want some food."

"Thanks. Can you put it on the desk?"

She moved across the room and put the plate down, and came to sit next to me. She rested her head on my shoulder and I wrapped my arm around her waist before resting my head on hers. "I love you Jas," she whispered. "I never tell you that because I expect that you know, but I love you."

I smiled, the first genuine smile I'd had in weeks. "I love you too Ferret," I said back, using the childhood nickname dad had for Rose.

I felt her giggle. "We'll get through this. You, me, Bella – we're a family. And when Alice decides she's ready to see us…you…again, we'll deal with it together."

She left me alone not long after that and I managed to eat the pizza. I took my plate downstairs and washed it before heading back to my room. I grabbed my journal and a pen and sat at my desk.

_Sunday_

_Alice left today. She said she'll be back in three months, and that's she gone to get help. I'm glad that she's realised that she needs help, but I just wish that this had never happened._

_Her family have been amazing through all of this. They don't blame me, even though they could. Rosalie and Bella have been so strong and supportive – giving me space when I need it, and dealing with the foul mood I've been in lately. It's amazing how it's on the times that things go bad when you realise just how lucky you are._

Monday after school I headed to Frank's as usual, and when I was leaving he handed me an envelope. "Your first pay," he explained. "I think you and Rosalie have more than worked off the difference on your cars."

"Thanks Frank – see you Saturday," I said with a smile, heading for my car.

I drove straight to the convenience store in town and bought two bunches of flowers – yellow and white for Rosalie, and purple for Bella.

I pulled into the drive a second ahead of Charlie.

"Jas, you shouldn't have!" he joked as he stepped out of the cruiser.

"Good thing I didn't then! These are for Bella and Rose, just to say thanks for putting up with me over the last few weeks. I didn't think flowers would cut it with you though – so hopefully me saying thank you will be enough."

Charlie clapped me on the back as we climbed the stairs. "You're welcome."

We headed through to the kitchen together to find Bella pulling a home-made lasagne from the oven and Rosalie setting a salad on the table.

"Flowers!" Rose squealed as I pulled them fro behind my back.

"For two of my favourite girls," I replied, handing her the yellow and white bouquet and dancing over to Bella with the purple one. "My extremely lame way of saying thank you."

Bella quickly filled two vases with water and the girls placed their flowers in the middle of table.

Dinner was relaxed and happy and afterwards we sent Charlie off to the TV with a beer. The three of us had just finished cleaning up when he called out to ask if anyone had checked the mail. We all looked at each other and shook our heads

"Oops," Bella called back as she left Rosalie and me in the kitchen. We heard the front door open and close, then open and close again a few seconds later.

We headed into the living room just as Bella handed Charlie a couple of envelopes. "Aaaand…one for Jasper, and one addressed to both of you," she finished, flicking two envelopes across the room with surprising skill.

"It's from dad!" Rose exclaimed, tearing into the one addressed to the both of us.

"Well share then!" I replied.

She read aloud:

"_Dear Rosalie and Jasper,_

_I hope this finds you both well, and not causing too much trouble for Charlie. I received your emails about your cars and your grades – the cars sound fantastic and I'm very proud of the grades you're both getting._

_I'm writing to let you know I've been granted ten days' leave over Christmas. I'm going to fly into Seattle on December 22 and I'll have to fly out again on the 29__th__ to make it back here on time. Charlie already knows I'm coming so hopefully this is a surprise for you._

_It would be nice to be able to tell you what I've been up to, but all I can say is that Cuba is hot and I'm looking forward to a few days in the cold of Forks._

_I've arranged to catch a bus from Seattle when I arrive so I'll see you around dinner time on the 22__nd__._

_Stay safe,_

_Love dad._

She grinned at me over the top of the letter. "He's coming for Christmas!"

We both turned to see Charlie and Bella grinning at us. "You both knew?" I asked.

Charlie nodded. "I had an email from Jack about a week ago, letting me know he'd been granted leave, and that he'd be coming. He told me he was writing to you and asked me not to say anything."

"What's the letter you got?" Rosalie asked me, gesturing to the envelope in my hand.

I'd almost forgotten about my letter. I glanced at the handwriting on the front and was startled to see Alice's neat script.

"I – I think it's from Alice," I stammered. "I might open it upstairs…"

Not waiting, I headed for the stairs, turning the envelope over and over in my hands. Once I was in my room and the door was locked behind me, I examined the envelope more closely. It was postmarked Friday, meaning Alice had sent it the day the rest of us went away.

I opened it carefully and pulled out the two page letter on Alice's favourite stationery – white with a rainbow in the top left corner.

_Dear Jasper,_

_I know writing to you is taking the easy way out, and I can't apologise enough for that. You've been nothing short of amazing, including giving me space, and I'm being weak and writing you a letter._

_When I told you about Hope, I left some stuff out. Stuff that's important, and I should have shared with you._

_Hope and I met in rehab for teens. When I was thirteen, I fell in with some pretty rough kids. They liked to drink, they liked drugs… I never tried the drugs, but the alcohol became my friend. It all came to a head when Emmett and Edward found me almost unconscious in the park near our house. They got me home and mom and dad sent me off to rehab for three months. I met Hope in there and we became friends._

_We swore to each other that we'd never drink again – we were each other's rocks. When she died, my whole world fell apart. My family were (and still are) amazing, but I needed to get away from the memories. So we moved to Forks._

_Then this year I met you. In you I found not only the most amazing boyfriend a girl could ask for, but a great friend as well. I'm still not sure why I only told you half of my story._

_I don't blame you for what happened the night of the party. It's not your fault. You didn't spike the punch, you didn't make me drink it. You tried to save me and I wouldn't let you._

_I'm sorry that I've shut myself away from you. I didn't want you to see me like this. I know that you heard about how I shut myself away with a bottle of vodka. That was only the start of it._

_For the next week, mom and dad trusted me to be at home by myself. I snuck out a few times and headed into town, where I got people to buy more alcohol for me. I hid it in my closet. I would have dinner with my family, then lock myself in my room and drink until I either felt too sick to drink any more, or passed out._

_Emmett came home early one afternoon and found me passed out on the couch downstairs. My stash had run out so I raided the liquor cabinet. I came to in the hospital with a drip in my arm and my family around me, looking like hell. That's what it took for me to realise that this isn't the way for me to live my life._

_I need to kick this demon once and for all. To do that, I need to send myself away. I'm not going to tell you where I'm going, because I don't want you to see me like this. Once I've sorted myself out, I'll let you know where I am._

_I'd love to hear from you if you think I'm worth it. I know it's not the easiest way to go about it, but if you feel like writing, you can get your letters to me through Emmett or Edward._

_Jasper, I can't tell you how sorry I am for the pain that I know I've caused, and am still causing you. You are one of the most important people in my life, and my only hope is that you'll still be there for me in three months when I've hopefully sorted my life out._

_I love you,_

_Alice._


End file.
